No Comrade Left Behind
by Heart's Requiem
Summary: This is the Kingdom Hearts story mainly involving Riku,and my Oc, Berri who faces the enormous task of proving to her new friend that nobody deserves to be alone. But what will happen when the battle ends? Will she be forced to abandon him?
1. Chapter 1

_**This is a Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction. I would consider this chapter to be suitable for all ages. It is written in limited third person, which means while there will be an omniscient narrator, they (I) will mainly focus on the thoughts and feelings of only one character--my OC. If you do not like the style I apologize; if you do not know what it is, feel free to read and shop around. As you may already know, I do not own any of the characters featured in the Kingdom Hearts games, or Manga series. However, I would like to ask that you do not use any of the OC's (original characters) that will be inserted into this story without first obtaining my permission. 3 Please enjoy.**_

_**---Chapter One: The boy with silver hair---**_

_**Gently curling tendrils of light pour through the cracks of the eggshell-colored blinds. Each delicate ray brushed and swayed across the wooden floorboards, breathing new vibrance into the rich mahogany's texture. A disgruntled huff broke the mystical serenity of early morning as the rays finally rose, sweeping over the lump of fabric and mussed hair. Needless to say, she did not want to get up. **_

_**The gentle chill that had been sustaining her sleep was sucked out of the tiny room when the door swung open. There, standing with feet firmly planted, was a figure she knew all to well. The lump on the bed grumbled something in a soft, whining tone before rolling away from the second glaring source of light. How was she expected to sleep if her lids were the color of flames? Even as the girl snuggled comfortably into the familiar scent of the down comforter she could feel her bad shaking against the floorboards as heavy foosteps moved over them. In a manner of skill only aquired with experience the heavy boots navigated the many obstacles littering the half of the bedroom facing the door in order to reach the teenager still snuggled stealthily inside her caccoon. Only slight traces of black hair could be seen peeping out from within the folds of the white fabric, but the boots knew better. She understood very well that the boots knew, and yet could not find it within herself to admit defeat. Not yet, anyway.**_

_**A section of blanket near her calves became taught, uncomfortable, and the girl knew she was caught. In a matter of seconds--"Yipes!" Analise yelped, pulling her body into a fetal knot as the comforter was ripped free of her person. A wafting air of warmth brushed over her limbs, slowly coaxing them to life as she pretended to shiver. Perhaps the boots would take pity. Then again, it was not likely. She ceased her exagerrated convulsing and sighed, crossing her arms delicately over her chest just in time to feel the plop of a perfectly folded blanket against the foot of her bed.**_

_**"Do I really have to get up now..?" The question was punctuated by the opening of one emerald-green eye in the direction of her assailant.**_

_**A pair of creamy crystallic blue orbs met her gaze evenly, if not a bit harshly. Only one word was spoken; the same word she had grown accustomed to hearing every morning at five-thirty, "Yes."**_

_**The boots creaked and groaned their ancient leathery sound as Krysta left the room. She knew better than to close the door, so with each passing second a fresh swathing warm glow of air passed over the Teen's body. She sighed, proppering herself up on one elbow in order to shuffle through the spikey mess that was her ebony hair. As usual it had gone through many stark changes in her sleep, and the girl was not thrilled about the task ahead: brushing through it. In one swift motion she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and slid off the sheets to stand on the still chilly wooden floor. The cold caused her toes to curl, and skin to curve in rippling goosebumps. Each action quickly faded as her skin became accustomed to the shocking temperature. In all truthfullness she was not dressed for the wintery weather. Her pajamas that should have consisted of warm fleece and long sleeves had been replaced by blue and purple plaid flannel shorts and a white cami top. Quite obviously, though, she did not care. It gave her a reason to snuggle deeply within the recesses of her mattress.**_

_**Her door creaked, complaining about its open state. The hinges were weak, and it could not be left ajar long before it began to sag. The teen muttered about needed a hardware store on her way to appease the decrepit, though intricately carved, slab hanging in the doorframe. It closed with a tiny click and squeak, alerting Krysta to her movements. Analise shuffled to the foot of her bed and slid her feet into fuzzy violet slippers to keep her warm throughout her primping routines of the day. Under normal circumstances she did not put much effort into glamour, but it was a very abnormal Saturday indeed. There was a festival to be held in honor of the heroes returning from battle--Well, that is what Krysta liked to call them. They were really just firefighters returning from a peculiarly dangerous task. The rolling hills that smelled of pine had sprung ablaze four days before, and in their haste to protect the little town hidden beneath the vibrantly green swells, the firefighters had lost three comrades. It had been the town's decision to compensate them with food, and comfort them with the company of those they had fought so hard to protect. The teen personally felt they should be left alone. How would they ever mourn with all of the attention?**_

_**The time she had been putting off finally arrived. Wether she liked it or not, she would have to attack the jungle that was her hair. Her brush, a beautiful green-handled instrument of beautification, had been a gift from a girl that lived down the street. Her name was "Zee," no more, and no less. The two had been friends for six years; right up until Zee had moved with her parents. It was shortly after that the tragedy occurred. Ana twirled the brush between her fingertips three times; once to remember the past, one to hope for the future, and a final rotation to put painful memories to rest for one more day. Her next few minutes consisted of vigorous scraping motions across her scalp in an attempt to tame her mane. Little by little it became a decently appealing mop of feathery black spikes and richly curved bangs that framed either side of her face. With a lop-sided grin, she set the brush down on her bedside table, and reached for the green sash that hung over her bedpost. A few measurements later, it was fastened around her head in place of a headband with the two loose ends trailing down her back at the base of a double knot. It would have been wise to change clothes first, but she intended to waste as much time as she could, and one more round of fixing her hair fit the bill perfectly.**_

_**Her hands, now relishing freedom from the tingling chill that had wracked her only moments before, stretched in delicate motions that matched her gently flowing stride as she crossed the floor to a second table. Sitting atop the polished marble slab that served as the top was a radio, old-fashioned in nature, but modern in the sense of its popular use. She flicked the antennae up and pushed the power button, waiting eagerly to hear what song would play. "You're the Voice," an old song by Heart, rolled poppingly out of the miniature speakers. She did not seem to mind the age of the song, nor the ancient quality of the sound, but instead twirled her way back across the bare floor to the head of her bed, and the other table. As she reached for the first of four drawers and pulled it open, her delicate humming voice began to fill the room, molding perfectly with the instrumental aspects of the song. After the first round of the chorus, though, she heard a sound that nearly silenced her thoughts completely.**_

_**She felt the rippling energy through the floorboards beneath her slippers before the sound really registered. It was a thud, gasp, and then a sharp intake of breath following the most sickening snap she had every had the displeasure of hearing. The thudding did not occur again, but she could feel..something, some formless shape shifting positions behind her in an erratic dance, and she did not like it. A long, shuddering attempt at breathing send a chill straight from her toes and up her spine. There was a person there. Rationality attempted to take the reigns, but fear threatened to gain control. It occured to her then that the shuddering sounds she was hearing were not breaths, but rather raspy words. Analise noted that without her conscious order, every muscle in her body had tensed. One at a time she relaxed them, careful to tune her ears into what might be lurking behind her.**_

_**Finally, a comprehensible string of audio passed into her brain, "Run."**_

_**Every ounce of fear she had been harboring dissolved with that one word. Run. It was a warning. Nobody warned you before they attacked; at least, not unless they were truly twisted. Something about the tone of voice told her that was not the case. It rose again, the same voice, but more urgently. She could almost feel the syllables pushing against her back, trying to guide her to the door and out of the house. **__**No.**__** The intensity of her own resolve startled her. Never before had her thoughts been so clear. She could not leave.**_

_**In a matter of seconds that felt like hours Analise glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the noise. The sight that met her eyes was one capable of stilling the blood in even the most experienced of warriors. A great fanning shape of ever-changing form had begun to seep out of the cracks in the floor and walls just beside the radio table. It was dark in shade, and consisted of many coolor colors such as navy, violet, and even indigo. The material seemed to behave like a gas, but with the consistency of thick water or syrup. That, however, only captivated her attention for a few seconds. Even as the shifting mass began to expand, she could not tear her emerald eyes away from the center of the chaos. It was a boy--or at least, she thought it was based on the structure of the jaw. The hair was not exactly confirming any gender considering is lush, feathery composition. Her eyes did not rest on him for very long as she could clearly see he was unconscious. As the dark mass continued to grow his form was slowly enveloped, each tendril of the smokey liquid-esque plasma concealing a different part of his robe, then his arms as the seconds passed. He needed help.**_

_**Without another thought the girl dashed forward, ignoring the memory of struggled speech the unusual blobs had caused. When her burst of effort brought her within two feet of the stranger, something obstructed her path. Little forms made of a similiar material to the now whipping substance had seperated themselves from the main body of focus. The were black, solidly, and posessed eerily large yellow eyes. She considered giant ants only briefly, but her assumption was soon contradicted as one of the five now hovering beings lunged for her face. Her arms shot up instinctively as protection, and the slashing claws of the creature met the skin on her forearms instead of her cheeks. Analise pushed back, throwing the thing against the wall before she dove to her knees. With one final stretch she felt her fingers close around what she still assumed was a boy's arm, and pulled.**_

_**Only seconds after contact was made, she felt an odd sensation of warmth. It was pleasant, and in her daze, she failed to notice the creatures shrinking back in a twitching sort of convulsive fear. A pale, creamy glow emanated from her fingertips and palm, consuming the room in a wash of tingling light. All too quickly it was gone, and her room had returned to its previous state. The only obvious changes were a few scratches on her arms, and a sleeping boy with silver hair.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**----Chapter Two: You don't bite, do you?----**_

"Krysta is going to murder me," she groaned, massaging her temples.

All she could think about was the light. It had come from her. Her fingertips, her palms, _her_ body. Nothing even remotely similiar had ever happened before, and considering the boy's current statue-esque state, she was positive he had been injured by it.

Granted, it was not her fault that he looked dead, but, she could have moved more quickly to save him; quickly enough to avoid that kind of a reaction.. Analise sighed, tentatively tugging on a lock of silver hair, "Please move.."

He did not even bat an eyelash. Her lips pulled into a pursed pout and without another word, the girl was up on her feet and storming over to the window. Who did he think he was, dropping through the wall like that? It could have been a prank designed specifically to get her into trouble. Still, she could not help wondering if he was truly injured. Her miniature bout of frustration exited with a sigh, and her muscles moved of their own accord to draw open the blinds and slide the window open. Heat immediately began fluctuationg against the screen and wafting into the little room. If anything it would be better for him. Lying on a cold floor never sped up a recovery.

Her eyes remained glued to the window for as long as she could afford to procrastinate, soaking in the light and vast spread of charred trees. A sudden wave of emotion crashed through her as she noticed the similarities between the black, twisted branches and the mysterious goo that had only minutes earlier invaded her bedroom. Ana shuddered, imagining all sorts of slimy, chilly textures that would accompany such a distinguished energy. It was those few imaginings that led her to a resolve her heart seemed to have already prepared herself for. Come hell or high water, she was going to make sure this boy was safe. **After all,** she reasoned, **nobody deserves to face something like -that- alone**.

A faint, slithering noise drifted up to her ears, and had she not been lost in thought, the sound might have frightened her. Instead her conscious mind drifted slowly back into reality to register what she was hearing. It took a few attempts to get the diagnosis correct, but the source of the sound finally came to her: cloth against wood. He was moving! Her signature lopsided grin beamed over her previously featureless face as Ana spun around to make sure he was alright. The expression on her face froze, and dissolved almost immediately into embarrassment. He was definately okay. Gorgeous, to be more specific, and already standing on his own two feet. Heat far greater than any of the warmth pulsing through the window flushed into her cheeks and ears until she was certain they would burst. Of all the times to be blushing, her body had picked a rather poor opportunity.

"Ah..um, you," her stammering voice made the cherry shade bleed darker. In one final burst of desperation she forced her voice to a smooth, calming tone, and smiled, "Are you hurt?"

Much to her surprise, the boy did not seem to notice her rapidly shifting moods. Instead he looked curious, perplexed, and amazed all at once. It did not fool her, though. Beneath the veil of silent contemplation was the face of a very nervous boy; or, rather, a young man, as he appeared a year or so older than Analise herself. His eyes were troubled, and she noted almost with a hint of shock they were almost the same color as her own. Just when she was reaching the end of what would have been considered a polite pause before posing her question for the second time, his lips--beautiful, as she had already decided--moved. No sound exited, but instead his sea-green eyes closed.

"No," his voice finally appeared, reverberating off the inner walls of her brain. The accent was peculiar, partially Japanese, but understandably English. It was pleasant in sound, but not in tone. The melancholy note echoed briefly as he motioned to take a step forward. His efforts ended in near-disaster.

He seemed to register the danger before the girl could even breathe. Whatever mechanism responsible for keeping him upright had failed. The tall silver-haired strainger wobbled, and she could almost see his world spinning, melting into strips of lava-like mush. Just as he caught his feet against the floorboards and began to fall she was there, propping him up like the second side of a ladder. To any peeping-john's it would have looked more like a hug. Her arms were firmly wrapped around the circumference of his chest, fingertips locked for a tight grip, and her shoulders pressing just under his to keep the boy upright. He had slumped over a bit, one hand resting limply at his side, but the other shifted, moving to very gently grasp Ana's shoulder. Her brain had even ordered her feet to brace themselves in a movement so quick that until he showed signs of life, she had not noticed using those muscles required at all. It was instinctual, her desire to protect him, and for the few seconds after he moved his hand, it frightened her.

The boy pushed himself completely upright to the point where she was two heads shorter. As he moved to the position, her interlaced fingers said goodbye, and the girl let her arms fall swifly to her sides. In order to hide her fluttering embarrassment, as well as the momentary glee gained by being so close to such a stunning creature, she took a step back and raised both hands in an apologetic gesture. Despite her efforts the ten delicate fingers she posessed were shaking against pale palms.

"Maybe you should sit down?" it should have been a command. Ana knew he needed the support of a chair, or in this case a bed since any chair she might have had was absent.

Much to her surprise, the boy obliged without any argument. Analise leaned back onto the heels of her slippers, and then felt her entire body go pink with embarrassment. She was still in her pajamas! A look of pure horror crossed over her otherwise pleasant features as the teen shot a glance down at her flannel shorts and fuzzy slippers. Her emerald eyes flicked back up to the boy, and what she saw there was an expression no words could describe. The immediate pain she felt throbbing through her heart was so terrible she wanted to scream. His eyes, wonderfully sea-green as they were, had shifted from images of rare gems to bottomless pits of despair, regret, and a feeling that only follows a deep sense of betrayal. Her soul shrunk back in absolute shock, but every fiber of her being urged her forward. The muscles of her mouth twitched, striving to form sound, a syllable, any word she could muster, but to no avail.

It had never been within her nature to lose track of time, regardless of the situation, but a sharp yell from down the hall shook her nerves into action. Krysta sounded furious, absolutely fuming, and wanted her outside immediately. Her attention turned to the still silent stranger and with a polite grin, she whispered, "I will be right back, I promise."

In order to keep her would be mother from storming in and finding a -boy- in her room of all things the teenage girl swung open her door and slid out on the worn soles of her slippers before yanking it shut behind her. No more than two steps later she ran headfirst into Krysta. Her foster mother was a short woman, even shorter than Analise herself, but no less intimidating. She carried a stout figure with a firm voice and brown hair that was beginning to turn gray. Even with her obvious aging, the movements she made were swift, sharp, and precise. The festival day was no exception. Ana found herself being held at eye-level with the woman by a fistful of hair and sash. It was a tight grip, but not painful. Krysta would never resort to violence.

"Analise! I woke you up thirty-two minutes ago, and you are not dressed!" the girl attempted to defend herself, but the narrowed caramel eyes boring into her soul insisted she did not, "What are you thinking? I have four other balls of fury to get to this festival! I can obviously see you won't be ready in time," Ana felt her hair relax, and knew that was her permission to stand at normal height. Krysta sighed, tucking loose strands of fading hair back into her prim little bun, "I am sorry, Ana, but you will have to walk into town this morning. Be there by noon, or there'll be hell to pay, you understand me?"

The waggling finger positioned just in front of her nose made staring straight a difficult task, but somehow she managed a, "Yes Ma'am," and shuffled back down the hall to her bedroom with as much of a scolded look as could be managed. In reality her curiosity was threatening to burst out and dance across the walls. Ever since her fingertips had left contact with the door, a tiny voice near the base of her skull had whispered promises that when she returned to her room the strange boy would be gone. Her relief hit new magnitudes when she opened the door to find him standing at the center of the room, attention focused on the open window.

"Oh, good. You're still here."

Her door closed with a squeak and a click, but he did not turn around. Instead the same melancholy voice rung out to meet her, "Hm. I thought you would have been glad to see me gone."

He was speaking, and that was good, but the words he had finally chosen to utter did nothing to ease her confusion. Analise cautiously moved closer, wringing her hands as she answered, "What do you mean?"

"I saw the way you looked at me," his voice became harsher, colder, but no less injured.

One at a time the wheels in her head began to turn, but the only answer she could give him were stammering fragments of words. Then, without warning, the epiphany she had been waiting for arrived, "Oh!"

Her strong breath of relief must have offended him, for her curtly turned on heel to stare, brows furrowed, eyes glinting with what could have been the glossy beginning of angry tears. She couldn't tell, though. The signals were much to faint for her to be sure, and her relief only doubled when he did not storm away. She allowed herself another smile and confidently approached, hands folding delicately behind her back. The silver-haired boy's eyes softened slowly as he glanced down at her miniature frame. Analise did the only thing she could, and energetically extended her hand.

"I am very, very sorry you thought that. I never meant for you to feel unwelcome, I was just ..well, I was embarrassed that you had seen me in my pajamas," the more she spoke, the more ridiculous she felt, but a second and much nicer tiny voice promised all would be well. Ana finally threw caution to the wind, and continued with what she knew was the right thing to do by saying, "My name is Analise, but you can call me Berri--just like the rest of my friends do."

He stared at her a moment, contemplating wether or not to accept the introduction. The boy seemed to settle on owing her a favor, considering the condition he had arrived in, and reached out to grasp the girl's hand. After one firm shake he nodded, clearing his throat, "Riku, and..Berri?"

She laughed, a sound that seemed infectious for it caused a little twinkle in the sea-green eyes that had before seemed distraught. When they had finished shaking hands, Berri reached up to tug on two seperate tufts of her raven-wing black hair, and very simply added, "Blackberry."


	3. Chapter 3

---Chapter Three: Do Not Be Afraid---

Wether her apology had been unexpected or not, he, Riku, seemed to have accepted it. She truly hoped that to be the case. Berri stole a glance around his shoulders to the window, checking the time by way of the sunlight against the smoking mountains; against the very spot where two of the four firefighters had perished. Her neck tingled, hairs bristling as she realized that someone was staring. The girl shook off her feelings of eery fear, and turned to find it was her new aquaintance that had been watching. A light sprinkle of concern had settled behind his otherwise contemplative features, but she ushered it away with another grin.

"I have way too many questions for you, Riku," she started, shuffling over to her pants drawer again, "but I promised Zee I would go to the festival. She's dancing in the opening ceremony."

The boy blinked, shuffling to the side out of her way, but remained silent to hear the end of her story. Every muscle he moved seemed tense, apprehensive, like he was waiting for something disasterous. Analise noticed, as she had always been particularly talented when it came to reading other people, but did not pry. Something about him was different, and she would not risk the chance of losing a potential friend. Every friend she had ever met had the same, unique quality about them. Something burried deep within their person sparked and twisted, fizzing with an overexaggeration of life. She had never been able to name the strange force that drew her to people, or perhaps that drew them to her, but it was pleasant all the same. Sensing it there sealed the fate of whoever she happened accross; they would be a friend, no matter how hard destiny tried to prove her wrong, they always turned out to be a friend.

She noticed with mild irritation that Riku had gone from listening curteously, to staring wistfully out the window. He sighed, drawing a hand through his silvery locks and turned back around to Berri, "You know, I am feeling much better now, so--"

The look of shock upon his face was laughable, but she somehow managed to keep a mask up that would entice him to listen further, "Oh no you, don't mister. I know you are trying to excuse yourself, and while I cannot say we know each other very well, I do believe I can do something to help you, okay?"

He heard the softening of her tone, much to her delight, and nodded in response. The next few moments were filled with idle chattering, mainly from Berri's direction, as she explained to him what would be expected at the festival. Twice she excused herself from the bedroom to change out of her pajamas or adjust a bra strap, but her absences never gave him enough time to formulate an escape plan. She would have none of that. Upon the completion of her outfit, the girl turned to him and smiled, much more softly than before.

"I know you are not from around here; this town is small enough for me to have met everyone at least twice, but I promise I will do what I can to make you feel like you fit in."

As quickly as her miniature speech had started, it was over, and Riku was being ushered out the front door of the house. The air outside was uncomfortably warm, and for a moment Analise was overcome with guilt at not offering her new friend a pair of less constricting clothes. Her "brother" would not have been upset after all.

The two walked in silence for a while, their boots keeping a peaceful rhythm against the cobblestone path the wound down away from the house atop a raised portion of the valley. When a light breeze did finally arrive the girl closed her eyes, breathing deeply. The tingling cool filled her lungs and was absorbed by the rest of her body before a healthy exhale let out the unwanted heat walking would produce. Energized by this new twang of oxygen, she picked up her leisurely pace to a more reasonable stride, and turned her eyes briefly toward her new companion.

"So, is there any particular reason you popped up out of a hole in my wall?" she questioned in a tone that demanded some kind of answer, but did not intrude on his privacy just yet. Her sideways glances told her he was choosing his words very carefully, but that was not an issue to the girl.

"I was looking for someone."

"A friend?"

"I guess you could say that."

His evasive answering amused her to some degree, but she wanted it known that a one-sided conversation would not suffice, "I see. Many people travel here for this festival. Perhaps if I knew their name, I could help you look?"

Her heart fluttered when he half-heartedly smiled. It was as beautiful as the twinkling in his eyes, but far more precious. He finally sighed, eyes briefly shutting out the blazing sun, and looked down at Berri with a matter-of-fact toned answer of, "Sora."

"Oh. That's a cool name," she paused, both in speech and in step before adding, "did Sora get stuck in that black-ish looking goo, too?"

"Heh. 'Black-ish looking goo,' huh? It almost makes the darkness sound harmless. No. He was smarter than that...hey. How did you know about that?"

His suspicious tone struck her somewhere deep. Did he not realize she was trying to be nice? "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?"

The two figures stood motionless, hair and loose scraps of clothing wavering in a breeze that no longer seemed friendly. Each was curious as to the other stranger's intentions, but neither wished to be the first to speak on their suspicions. Riku glanced at her once more as if staring long enough would unlock the secrets of her mind, but it did nothing to cool her rising temper. Berri knew she had done nothing in ill-will, and she was on a mission to make him see reason. With words far harsher than she had intended, the girl folded her arms across her chest, and cast her eyes downward just in time to mutter, "You know, you're never gonna get anywhere if you can't trust anyone."

He stared, haphazardly swaying with the breeze as if she had struck him. The boy attempted to speak again, but restrained when she looked back up at him and made as direct a form of eye contact she could without seeming rude. All youthfull naivety had vanished from her face, and was replaced with the pale intensity of gravity that most only acquired with experience gathered across the course of a lifetime. When the akward silence was finally broken, it was still her turn to speak.

"I knew about that stuff because when you appeared in my bedroom, so did it. You were practically unconscious, and, quite frankly, it looked like it was going to eat you. I wouldn't have had any trouble pulling you out if those ant-looking things with yellow eyes hadn't startled me. Anyway, I grabbed your arm, and..it just kind of went away. I can tell you don't trust me, Riku, and that's really okay. You don't have a reason to yet, but let me just make this perfectly clear. I have already promised myself that I would take good care of you for as long as I can, and it's just as important to keep a promise you've made yourself as it is to keep one you've made to other people. so Lord help you if you try to make me break that promise, understand?"

Her expression had slowly shifted from serious to the almost comical form of a pouting young girl, but he did not stop her, nor did he try to argue. A sheer veil of remorse hung about him as he glanced meaningfully at her scratched arms. He wanted to apologize, but could not find the words. Instead his only response was, "It's funny. You remind me of..Let's get you to the festival."

When she made an effort to resume walking it was quickly thwarted by his calling her back. Berri sighed, spinning on the soles of her boots so that they grounded with an odd, but not unpleasant sound against the cobbles. Her eyes rested on a scene that inspired both awe, and a tingling thrill of fear. Riku was standing, one hand outstretched, but that did not induce the strange sensation. Twining around his fingertips was the same, strange auretic ooze that had tried to consume the boy that very morning. Until she saw the serenity on his face, the girl had been terrified that the nightmare had returned, but it did not seem to be the case. His brows knitted together, hair whipping wildly against the wind for a brief few seconds as the cloak of shadow-esque material grew into a swarming oval-shaped blob. Her new friend stepped forward towards the unidentified mass, and turned back around gesturing for her to come forward.

"Wha?" she questioned, pulling one hand back against her chest for security against the unknown. Berri understood why he had thought her afraid of him, but what she could not comprehend was his willingness to approach a substance that had viciously attacked him.

"Berri, trust me," he coaxed, extending a gloved hand out to her, "I won't let it hurt you."

_Berri, trust me._ The command--no, the request echoed between her ears. It was a near ancient belief her family carried, that in order to gain trust you must be willing to give it, as is the case with many other forms of familiarity. She turned her eyes away to the familiar gray and brown pathways that had comforted her on many a dreary day. In a manner of seconds that felt like eternity she cross-referenced every nook between the houses, every flailing branch that the now growing winds had decided to ruffle with memories long forgotten; some of them pleasurable, others painful. It was only a matter of time before her eyes fell on the destruction behind the picturesque landscape; the after effects of an unaturally blazing fire. Krysta had promised her, though, that the forest would grow again. Her foster mother had sworn that out of destruction there came a new opportunity for beauty. Perhaps the goo, or darkness, as Riku had called it, would provide a similiar promise.

Without another thought, she turned back towards her friend and nodded, fashioning herself a lop-sided grin before reaching out to take his hand.


	4. Chapter 4

---chapter four: This isn't Kansas, yo ---

Her lungs inflated with surprise as she followed him inside the murky atmosphere. It was not cold, or damp, or even slimy as she had anticipated. In fact it was rather warm, buzzing with hidden surges of energetic power. It even lacked an unpleasant scent. Still, there was something eerily unatural about it, and Berri decided that she ought to keep on her toes, regardless of what it seemed to be. The first few seconds of suffocating darkness had left her unprepared for the colorful patterns materializing up ahead.

The girl heard herself gasp, and so did Riku, but she chose not to focus on the surreal sound that could not possibly have come from her mouth. Her body wanted to be afraid, her brain warned against a sense of comfort, but how was she supposed to feel fear with something so exoticly beautiful standing right in front of her? The walls were in constant shifting motion, colors and spirals, symbols without name or meaning gliding over invisible planes that cut diagonally across one another. Her friend calmed himself upon noticing her startled expression was not one of fear, and tugged Berri along down the corridor. It occured to her then that with such transparent walls, and, even a seemingly endless ceiling, that she would not want to risk glancing downard. As always, her eyes refused to take heed, and the emerald hues doubled in size as she struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. Her feet were stepping on something solid, another one of the many planes perhaps, but she could have sworn there was no floor there. The dimensions were wrong, and without shadow to prove to her there was something beneath air and swirling shapes beneath her feet, the entire experience was nerve-wracking.

"So, this is darkness?"

"This is a corridor of darkness. It's a portal between two places. Fastest way to travel I've ever seen."

"Okay, so the black goo is darkness, but a big glob of goo leads to a corridor of darkness. How do you know if you're going the right way? I only see one other..ah..portal?"

"You have to know where you want to go before you open one, Berri."

"Oh. That was a stupid question."

She felt embarrassment rearing its ugly head for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Riku did not seem to notice, but she could not help feeling he was annoyed with her ignorance. After all, he did strike her as a bit..confident. Still, he waved her comment away with a "Don't worry about it" and continued striding ever forward.

"Okay. Now, about the giant ants.."

Berri had expected to exit into a throng of jubilant people. She had expected there to be laughing, bands practicing, and children running about with glee plastered across their faces. Almost immediately, her expectations were forgotten, and replaced with reality. There were flames everywhere, clinging to the sides of the town hall, licking up the bark of trees only to swallow leaves in a spiraling burst of crimson flare. Coats lay abandoned on the cobbles, each burning, decomposing at a rapid rate right before her eyes. There were people, too, suffering a similiar fate.

Disbelief was the first emotion to hit. Her heartbeat thrummed against her ribcage, and she was sure that the silent black-clad figure beside her could hear it pounding in his own ears. When her body refused to move, her mind whirred, struggling to put the shattering jigsaw pieces back together. There was no heat, so how could there be fire? If there was no fire, how could all these things burn? She stumbled forward a few steps, failing to notice Riku had disappeared from her side. The portal of darkness behind her crackled, fizzed, and then collapsed in on itself all together in a vibrant exit. Then it struck her. The fire did not give of the same heat as flames inside a hearth would, but they felt familiar. She sensed the same burning energy that had sparked beneath the cover of darkness, even as they moved through the corridor to the center of the festival preparations. They both, darkness and the cold fire, had stemmed from the same kind of force; the same kind of magic. Berri realized with a chill that this was not her first time encountering the cold flames. It had been fire of this peculiar variety that swept over the hills, sucking life out of foliage, and three firefighters.

Unable to remain motionless any longer the girl dashed forward. Peculiar or not, it was still fire, and the fountain was just around the courthouse. She sprinted down the street, her boots clacking less as she tore over more travelled stones that had been worn thin. As Berri reached the turn she needed, the girl found a rather massive obstruction appearing before her. She put on the brakes, digging her heels into the grout between the rocks, and skidded to a rough stop just in time to avoid a collision with the giant red thing hovering before her. The fact that it was hovering above the ground at all with no sign of a propulsion system alone was miraculous, but instinct warned her not to confuse something dangerous with something wonderful.

It was shaped rather like a bell, and had a yellow capped top that looked much like an acorn's cap. For a moment it appeared harmless, but the massive red bobble began to rotate, turning to face the courthouse. Its yellow cap sparked, giving off thrumming noises, and within the little gap between it's head and the air before the bobble the most massive orb of fire she had ever laid eyes on curled into existence. Her jaw droped, lungs filling beyond normal capacity, but Berri could not scream. The creature, as she now concluded it must be acting on thought, let the flaming sphere fly forward and crash over the delicately carved pillars of the marble courthouse. Even the stone began to burn, falling in chuncks as its once gray complexion turned black. The bobble twitched involuntarily, seeming to sense the girl's presence, and lurched once again to rotate. As its front came into focuse, facial features became apparent, along with a mark resembling a cross between a valentine's heart and a flour-de-lee crossed with thorny vines set into the center of its bulbous body.

She felt her eyes widen, but saw no improvement in her vision. The creature really was there, and even as she stared Berri could spot more of them. The others were quite notably smaller in size, but no different in their obvious desire for destruction. Her muscles ached with the need to be free of the paralyzing gaze, but the eery feeling the creature gave off kept her stationary. It was inhuman of course, but as hard as she tried to find some indication of a sentient being's mind, there was nothing there. At the very best it was a drone; a mindless being created by something else as a tool, and it had started sparking again.

For the first time in a long time she felt panic, and found the means to free it by forcing her brain to function, and shouting, "Riku!"


	5. Chapter 5

----chapter five: The Six Senses...wait ----

The fireball, or rather meteor sized orb of furious flaming doom, only seemed to grow bigger at her cry for help. She heard the signature pop that had occurred before the previous release of the creature's fire, and turned away. Her body tensed, arms set in such a way that her elbows nearly touched her navel, spread fingers covering only hear ears. Berri had no idea she looked ridiculous putting herself in such a stance when her adversary had burned through marble for her eyes were squeezed so tightly that for a moment, she thought they might burst.

She stood, shaking within her already shuddering body, awaiting a sensation that..never arrived. The sound of contact had been made, but she felt no sting, no sense of pain, and certainly no evidence that she had been consumed by fire at all. It led her to believe she was dead, but previous experiences of the day comforted her. Nothing was what it seemed. The girl forced her eyes gingerly open, immediately spying whipping tendrils of flame just an arm's length away. The blow had gone around her, somehow diverted. Berri paused, very slowly uncurling her spine to stand at normal height. She felt someone near her. No, she felt him near her. Just to be sure, her arms fell limply to hersides as the girl spun 'round on her heels, only to have her suspicions confirmed.

"Oh, Riku!"

There he was, obviously channeling some sort of dark energy again. Of course, there was no bubbling portal to a corridor of darkness this time, and while it puzzled her at first, the teen finally noticed a shimmering plane before his outstretched hand. Her eyes trailed the edges of the square, only to find it was sealed firmly against many more of equal size until together they formed a dome-shaped shield. It had been Riku's shield that pushed back the flames. He did not answer her cry of relief, but did take a quick glance over his shoulder. She assumed he was checking to make sure his plan had gone through flawlessly. The monsterous bobble of a thing seemed perplexed. His prey was not deceased, and now instead of one, there were two. She could not help feeling a slight twang of sympathy for it.

Her heart skipped a beat, and then three as Berri realized the shield was practically evaporating. The fire had vanished of course, but she had seen no evidence of the creature becoming tired or spent after using its magic, and so another attack seemed more than plausible. She noticed that Riku again appeared unperturbed, and his even demeanor calmed her nerves just enough to keep her from shaking. Berri watched with anticipation as his shoulders rose, and then fell only to do so thrice more before his second hand rose, fingers splayed just as the first appeared. A thunderous rivlet of energy pulsed down his arms, gathering at the point where both somes nearly connected, and burst forward again like a bullet from a gun. The projectile hit the great red being square between its eyes, and much to her surprise, it shuddered, mouth ajar, and simply..vanished. It was not a graceful exit by any means, as it seemed to have left the world one piece at a time, and had she not been so shocked, the girl would have sworn right on the spot she had seen a giant, transparent heart swiveling towards the sky upon the bobble's death.

The other small creatures seemed to take the defeat of their boss as good cause to fall back and regroup. Her new friend was breathing hard, struggling to stand, and Berri knew why. She had sensed the energy it took to fire a single missile, and could only imagine the amount it would have taken to keep both of them shielded long enough for a fireball of such magnitude to pass. It was too much for her to handle. The flames, missing people, and strange creatures were all a devastating mess, but now she had caused potential harm to the one person she had promised to protect. In the end, he had been required to protect her instead. Berri felt the sting of tears near the corners of her eyes, and willed for a breeze, a bug, anything to come and hide the moisture's true origins. There would be no such relief in the midst of the mysterious fires.

Riku attempted to steady himself, and while his breathing had become less shallow, she worried for him. He had been keeping something from her, but that was unimportant for the time being. She thought she would have wanted nothing more than for him to turn around. She thought that seeing his eyes would give her some hint as to how badly he needed to rest, but she had thought wrong. As soon as her emerald eyes stepped foot into the bottomless pits of aquamarine barely visible behind the veil of silvery locks, Berri relinquished her ability to see. She could not see his reaction, but her imagination supplied enough expressions of disgust to last anyone a lifetime. Only the vague outline of his black coat and white hair against the brown building in the distance told her he had not yet deserted her. Long before she realized she had done it, Berri had crossed the small distance between herself and the boy only to wrap her arms firmly around his torso. She felt herself hiccup, fighting off the greater of her heaving sobs. At first his muscles tensed, and the girl half-expected him to push her away. Instead he waited patiently, one hand hovering about her hair as though he did not know what to do. She knew he wanted to comfort her, but found a mild sense of appreciation that he was not trying too hard. It was in the female code of law that when tears beckoned, they should not be denied. After two full minutes of ridiculously embarrassing embracement, she managed to choke, "I'm sorry."

A beautifully painted image of what she must look like had nestled itself within her brain, and she was eager to remove it. What right did she have to go to a near stranger for comfort? He did not speak, and so Berri let him go, taking two steps back to swipe the back of her hand across her eyes. It was one of many times throughout her life where she was thankful for the lack of eye-makeup on her person. Had her soul not been weighted with despair, the expression on Riku's face would have made her laugh. He seemed to be in a state of shock, and while he was obviously concerned, she could not tell if it was for her, or his own safety. It occurred to her then that Riku must not have sisters, for he seemed completely unprepared to handle a feminine breakdown. She took another step back to show she meant no harm.

Her eyes, still blurry and shining brightly due to the luminous water droplets still brimming at the corners, swept over the areas nearest them. Riku had been busy in his absence. Many of the buildings were charred, but the flames had been removed, or more accurately, snuffed out. The people were absent, and the teen sighed, crouching down closer to the ground. Her delicate apendages closed around the fabric of a shawl, deep mahogany in hue, and scented with lilac perfume. It belonged to Krysta. Her face felt numb, and while the girl could not see herself, she knew there was no expression but emptiness on it. The look did not suit her, and even Riku seemed to notice, for while he was still wary the boy had taken a step and a half closer to gaze down at the shawl as well.

In a voice far too tentative for his character, he asked, "What is it?"

"My fost--my mother's shawl," she muttered, immediately relieved that he had not questioned her about the tears. Sometimes it was good to have a boy as a friend.

"Well, she can't be too--"

"What were they?"

The boy hesitated, eyebrows rising briefly before they settled back into a pensive stare, "What?"

"Those things starting the fire, and the black creatures with yellow eyes back at the house," Berri stood up, turning to stare directly into his eyes. She was not going to let him get away with any vague answers this time, "what were they?"

"Heartless."

"Heartless? All of them?"

He seemed to sense the skeptical tone, and sighed, closing his lids against her stare, "Yes. All of them."

She sensed his desire to spew sarcasm, and the sensation immediately startled her. It was peculiar to have a feel for someone so soon. Under normal circumstances it would have taken her months to learn the subtle changes in tone that accompanied a person's personality, but Riku's was crystal clear to her. He had suffered enough of her wrath for one day so rather than continuing to bore a hole through his forehead, Berri turned away.

"What's wrong with them?" she questioned, turnign the fabric of the shawl over in her fingers, willing the Lilac scent to rub off on her.

"What do you mean?"

The curiosity in his voice strengthened her. If he knew there was a possible answer to her question, it meant she was not insane. With that opportunity in mind, she glanced over her shoulder to speak to him again, "They feel different. Not like you and me..It's hard to explain."

A flicker of recognition passed just briefly into his expression, but she pounced on it, spinning around to face him again. Riku flinched, half expecting her to run at him again, but instead she spoke more urgently, pushing the words towards him with the power of her voice, "You know what I'm talking about, don't you? There's something, some feeling, missing from their aura. You know what it is."

It was not a question, and the girl knew that had there been different circumstances involved, her friend would have been miffed. Instead, he clenched his jaw a moment, testing the tension in his fingers by flexing his palms, and then balling them into fists again. She watched patiently, knowing he could not ignore her for long. Her heart sunk dismally when his eyes turned on her again, obviously stating that he would not give too much away.

"This isn't something you want to get caught up in, Berri."

"Riku!" She half breathed, half whined, stamping one foot, "Look at what they did! I can't just let them get away with it! And where did all those people go? Krysta's gone," she shook the Shawl for emphasis, "and so is Danielle! Riku, Danielle is three, I can't leave her by herself."

As she spoke, her voice lost its conviction. Berri had continued to murmer the names of others she had not been able to find in her mad dash around the courthouse, but her trailing argument was cut short as the black cloak drew closer, and gloved hands settled themselves on her shoulders.

"I know."

It was all he said, but there was a feeling behind the words with a magnitude Berri had never encountered before. It was not sympathy, but empathy instead. When he claimed to understand, Riku had meant it with every fiber of his being, and despite the short reply, the notion comforted her greatly. She untied the loose knot in the shawl, and fastened it around her waist in place of a belt before knotting it twice for security. Needless to say it did not match well with her modernized fashion, but it fit her heart like a glove. Riku had released her shoulders and glanced longingly towards the sky, but when she tried to follow his gaze, he turned his aquamarine eyes away. The sound of his voice had started up again, but it took her several seconds to realize he was speaking not to the air, but to her. Feeling bashful for her lack of attentiveness, Berri casually tilted her head to listen.

"Not many people can sense darkness, and even fewer can tell the difference between someone with a heart, and without. The heartless literally are those without hearts. They feel nothing, they cannot think. The heartless act only on instinct," his voice ran cold, but even the change in tone could not deter her captivation, "and if they find someone with their heart in tact, they attempt to steal it away. There are some strong enough to resist, but the majority of heartless victims lose their hearts, and are transformed into heartless themselves. All kinds of heartless roam this world, and many others out there, but you'll know them by the seal you saw on that large one's chest. Every heartless carries it."

"Is that what happened to everyone here?"

He paused, glancing wistfully up at the sky again, and nodded, "Yes. Heartless are not the only enemies to be feared, though. There are also creatures called nobodies, and they're more dangerous. A nobody is the shell of a body left behind after a strong individual loses their heart, and nobody's have the ability to plan strategic attacks. There are ranks among nobodies as well, and the strongest circle have formed a group called Organization Thirteen," he glanced down at her to make sure she was comprehending the information, "and they have humanoid forms. Each member of Organization Thirteen remembers what it was like to have a heart, and they can fake emotions well, but just like the heartless they do not have hearts, and anything they say can't be trusted. They dress in the same uniform I am wearing now, but usually have their hoods up so they are more difficult to tell apart."

Berri noded, taking in the information, but not without a quirk of her brow when she asked, "You aren't a nobody, so why do you wear the outfit?"

"Personal business," he had practically snapped, but by now she knew such things could be disregarded, and his voice had softened by the time he continued, "You see? It's too dangerous for you to go off on your own personal suicide rescue mission. There are too many creatures out there waiting to pounce."

"You're right," she sighed, twiddling her fingers triumphantly. Of course, Berri felt bad for what she was about to do, as twisting words had never been an honorable form of communication, but the stammering look on his face when she said in a sing-song voice, "Which is why I'm coming with you," made it all worthwile.


	6. Chapter 6

----Chapter six: On the Outside, Looking In----

Berri could sense frustration, and it troubled her not knowing the source. Riku had indeed taken her away from the smouldering town square through another corridor of darkness, but had made it a point to let his reluctance shine through at every possible opportunity. He had really been given no choice by the girl. Her argument was flawless, and admittedly laced with pathos. They were perched lazily on a rooftop of some other world, and while she had been soaking in the unfamiliar patterns of the clouds, anticipating what mysteries the new map of stars might show, Riku had informed her that the new place was called Hollow Bastion, though it had once been known as something else. She had pressed him for more information, but the boy had sworn he did not remember the world's true name.

So there she sat, feet dangling over the edge of a store of sorts and leaning back on the palms of her hands. Wind pulsated softly through the crooks and turns that made up the roads of Hollow Bastion. It was a pleasant hum that she had grown accustomed to living within the shaded protection of rolling hills and a few scraggly mountaintops. Voices floated by less frequently as the afternoon wore thin, and she had noticed that they belonged always to the same small group of people. Despite the rows of rooftops streatching about, and the presence of a castle, the world seemed to be inhabited by only a handful of strangers. It had been some time since the voices last geared up, and the still peacefullness urged her to venture back to the argument that had taken place before Riku agreed to let her tag along.

**flashback warning**

"No, you are not."

"Yes I am."

"Berri, I'm not taking you with me. I already explained, it's too dangerous and I don't have the time to be looking out for you."

His statement had hurt, but she would not budge in her resolve. The girl set her hands on her hips, stepping up to him defiantly despite their different in height, "You don't have to take me with you. Just know I'll be following you wherever you go."

"And how is that? You can't control darkness. I can leave right now."

"You won't. For all that talk, you're far too considerate to abandon me here."

It had struck a nerve, and her face flushed again. She had not meant to hurt his feelings, but his change in tone made it obvious she was winning the fight. Riku sighed, running his hand through silvery locks before glaring at her a moment, "I'll drop you off at Twilight Town. The people there will keep you safe until you find a way to look for your family."

"That's not good enough, and you know it," she chided, wagging a finger at him like a little mother, "I'm travelling with you, wether you like it or not. I want to help you."

"Berri, nobody can help me!" he fumed, sharply turning to storm away from her. Almost as quickly as it had appeared, his anger fizzled, dying down into a brooding sort of depression.

"Have you let anyone try?"

"I don't understand. How many more hints do I have to give you? I am dangerous," she watched him whirl around, hands outstretched and swirling amidst orbs of darkness, "one blast, and you could be dead. One blast, Berri! I have chosen darkness, can't you wrap your spikey little head around that, Sora?!"

He had frozen, mouth set in a lopsided line. Berri's eyes clicked with understanding, "You won't hurt me," the girl stepped forward, picking her way over a fallen piece of stone as the darkness evaporated from around his palms, "and I'm sure Sora knows you wouldn't hurt him either. Now, again, I'm coming with you even if you don't want me to. I want to help you find your friends, and maybe if I'm lucky we'll spot some of mine along the way. I know you're intelligent enough to understand that I'm as stubborn as you by now, and besides..nobody deserves to go through everything you have alone."

"How did you--?"

Berri waved his question away, lowering her voice to a less commanding tone, and continued, "I don't know what happened to you, or your friends. I don't know what you meant when you said you've chosen darkness. Hell, I don't even know how old you are. But, I do know what I can see, and Riku, your eyes are an open book. Hear me out; I don't care what happened between you and Sora, and I don't care that you've 'chosen darkness.' I don't give a rat's rear end about anything you have done that you may not be too happy with, because let me tell you something," she pursed her lips, pausing for dramatic effect, "If none of that had happened, if even one second of your past had not gone exactly the way it did," and at that moment, the teen broke into her signature lopsided grin, lowering her hands to her sides, "Then I never would have had the opportunity to call you my friend."

The two stood in silence, listening to the crackle of the fire as it dwindled down into nothingness. He finally unclenched his hands, fingers stretching to reduce stiffness, and muttered a curt "Seventeen," before setting his features into the most ridiculously fake cold stare Berri had ever set eyes on. Riku scoffed, furrowing his brows even further, and practically growled, "You'll need a weapon."

**end flashback**

And there they were, seated side by side in Hollow Bastion; not Twilight Town. He had indeed delivered a weapon to her after much haggling with a merchant whose store was near bankrupcy. It was a long pole staff, creamy brown along the center handle with two curved, sickle-esque blades on either end. As a sign of thanks for shopping during dark times, the weapons master had even included to beautifully dyed red feathers on leather straps to tie to each end after freshly sharpening and strengthening the blades. He had sworn that the feathers were crucial in a fight, and had the ability to distract an enemy long enough for the weilder to find an opening. She doubted that greatly, but had thanked Riku one too many times for his trouble regardless.

The silence had become akward, and Berri scooted her fingertips over to brush against one of the red feathers lying next to her.

"I'm seventeen, too."

"What?"

"I'm seventeen, too," her emerald eyes trailed away from the darkening sky, and up to her still stoic companion, "You said you were seventeen, and so am I. It took me by surprise, though. You look like you would be older."

"Heh. Gee, thanks."

She grinned, "Don't mention it."

Riku huffed irritably, looking down upon the shorter rooftops. The girl could tell he had something on his mind. She had decided to give him three minutes tops to bring it up on his own before she barged in. Berri had sensed a certain hidden side of her new friend, and concluded over their short time together that he had trouble voicing his concerns, doubts, and most importantly, fears. Her assumption proved correct when he continued to glower down at the terra cotta shingles in silence. Berri gave him a soft nudge with her elbow.

"What's on your mind? Communication is important for a two-man..well, two-person team, you know."

"Why?"

"Why? Ah..uhm. I guess, because if you know what the other is thinking, it's easier to--"  
"No, not why is communication important," he rolled his eyes, "why are you so much like him?"

While she knew immediately what he was asking, the girl was hesitant to bring up the name blunder Riku had made during their squabble. Instead she put on her best innocent face, and began swinging her feet back and forth over the edge of the roof with a cheerful, "Who?"

"Sora. If I didn't know any better I would swear you were his nobody."

"Hey!"

"No, not like that!" he frantically sputtered, "I meant how you act so similiar. Nobodies always have some similarity to the original!"

"Pfft, yeah, sure," she pouted, "you're just mad 'cause I talked you into letting me come along."

He scowled at her again, perfectly ready to protest until her heard her laughing. "What's so funny?"

"I was only joking, Riku. I trust you. Honestly, though, I have no idea why we seem similar to you; I've never met Sora, remember? It could be we're just destined to be friends," her cheesy grin made him grimace, but Berri knew he was thinking just the same thing, "Speaking of 'why's', why are we just sitting on a rooftop, anyway?"

"Sora will be here soon."

"Wh--Well, that's good news, isn't it?" she restrained her excited squeal upon noticing the sullen look on Riku's face. He should have been happy. After all, he had told her he was looking for Sora"..Riku?"

"He doesn't know I'm back yet," he seemed to remember Berri was uninformed, and took a moment to glance her way, explaining, "The last time we met, we had to seal a special door using our weapons called Keyblades. The King was there with me as well, but because the door had to be sealed from both sides both the King and I were locked in the realm of Darkness, while Sora stayed here. He doesn't know that I've made it back, and I'm just here to check up on him, not to have a girly tear-infested reunion."

The last bit had been snapped, but she brushed it aside. "I guess I understand that part, but, why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not afraid."

"He's your friend, Riku, and he's probably worried sick about you, but you don't want to tell him you're okay? That sounds like fear to me." When he did not respond, she leaned closer, "Did you two have an argument?"

"No, I--it was my fault. Not his."

"You're afraid he won't forgive you," it was, again, another statement. She felt her heart flutter excitedly as the words slipped past her lips. Little by little, she was beginning to understand; she was learning how to read him.

"It doesn't matter," he stood, unconsciously extending a hand to help her up, "He should be with Leon's gang by now with the other two."

Berri shrugged, grabbing her staff in one hand, and his gloved fingers with her other in order to reach her feet with ease. Riku strolled along the rim of their current perch before stepping from one shingled rooftop to the next. His confidence assured her that he knew where he was going, so the girl hurried off after them. It was surprising how light on her feet she felt, creeping around at dusk. Every so often images of spy movies flashed through her head, causing the need to stifle a giggle or two. As they neared a corner she noticed he pulled up his hood, which completely covered the silvery hair, and left no part of his features visible. They came round a bend in the housing, and after leaping noislessly--well, almost--across the gap of an alley, they were positioned down a short strip of walkway that stopped at the door of a house with a carved owl resting atop the door's frame. The slipped through the approaching shadows of nightfall, and Berri was greatful for her preference in earth toned clothing. It would have been terrible of her to give Riku's position away. They stopped one door down, and were close enough to see the broken light seeping under the door. Every time someone passed by, the strips of gold would change in width and length, flickering between obscurity and full vibrance. It took a great deal of effort to draw her eyes away. Then she heard it; three new voices, much unlike the ones she had been hearing all day. They seemed younger, and more..free. Whatever new presence had arrived certainly felt right, and with a twang, Berri realized what she had sensed again. This time, instead of the hidden surge behind the power of darkness, what she felt was something stronger. There was darkness there, to be sure. The girl had grown accustomed to sensing its signature all around, but the odd warmth emanating from the building felt familiar as well, and with a start, she realized what it was. It was light. Sora, Riku's friend, was absolutely overflowing with light similiar to the glowing wave that had washed away the darkness in her bedroom.

"I can't hear what he's saying," she started at the sound of Riku's voice, but soon whispered her agreement. He edged closer to the door, sighing with defeat, and moved back closer to her, "Berri. I need a favor.."

"Oh Christ, what is it?"

"You haven't even heard it yet!" he instantly hushed his rising voice, and both of them paused, leaning further back into the shadows until the noise in the house started up again. The girl heard Riku's name indoors, and knew someone was commenting on hearing his voice. The boy turned his shrouded face to her, one glovedh and gripping her shoulder as he whispered an urgent, "You owe me."

"Fair is fair, I guess. What do you need me to do?"

"I want you to go in there, to talk to them. See how everything is going, and how much information they have on Organization Thirteen, but, more importantly, on a nobody named 'Roxas."

"Okay. That sounds simple enough--"

"There's a catch, Berri."

"Of course," she sighed.

"Don't...mention me. Okay? I will have to disappear for a few days, but you'll know I'm around."

Berri chewed her lip, biting down a protest, but found she could not keep herself from voicing concern, "Riku--"

"I'll come back. Just, do it okay?"

"Oh, alright, alright," the girl finally grinned, not wanting to part on a sour note, "I will see what I can find out, but only on one condition."

"What is that?"

"If he directly asks me if I have seen, met, heard of, or spoken to you, I am going to say 'Yes, within the past month.' I won't give him any more information than that, but you can't possibly ask me to lie, okay?"

"Fine," he barked, "but you'd better not lead him right in to asking. I'll still be listening in, remember?"

Her pride swelled. It was getting easier to compromise. The girl stood rather shakily at first and struggled for good footing on the slanted shingles. Riku hissed at her to be careful, and for the third time the girl had to remind him she had once taken gymnastics. Not a particular favorite out of her activities, but she had been top of her class nonetheles.

"Stop being a worry wart, will you? I've already explained my muscles are trained to perform gymnastics. All I have to do is account for the weight of my staff and adjust my balance accordingly."

Even though she heard him mumbling as though he understood, the teen knew full well he had no idea what she had been explaining. Riku had described his fighting style in the event they had to go into battle together, but she could tell by his explanations that he had talent, but no way of knowing why what he did was successful. She planned to coach him on the 'why' later. Her trek along the edge of the rooftop was a slow one considering her mind's absence from the task at hand. Her emerald hues occasionally drifted to the skies above, drinking up the sights of stars she had no names for. _I think I'll call you Fred,_ she thought to a particularly plump dot blinking hello. A cool breeze whipped past her sash, but there was no reason for her to worry. It was tied much to tightly to fly free from her ravenwing hair. Berri held her staff in both hands, and clicked her heels close together after turning to face the edge of the roof, and the almost familiar cobblestone courtyard below. She breathed in deeply, pulling cool air down her lungs to rejuvinate her senses; her body had to be awake as possible for such a high drop. The girl snapped her nerves to attention, and in one swift motion had bent her legs, leapt off, and fallen. Halfway down she rotated, all the while her staff perfectly balanced so the odd shape and weight would not throw her off track. Considering the force of her descent, her landing was virtually quiet with little more than the thump of boots and grinding of leather against stone as she fell into a crouch with one knee bent, and the other extended, her torso less than a foot away from the ground. It was practically the splits, but her sliding of one leg had eased the force of impact. She swore she heard Riku release a sigh of relief, and it made her smile to think he had been concerned for her safety.

Berri exhaled a sigh herself, calming the heightened senses it had required for her to act as such, as well as to still the adrenaline rush. She rose to her feet again, twirling the staff twice so that it rested in a position that would not suggest violence before striding towards the door with the carving of an owl. Her walking stopped there, and after hour-long seconds of mental preparation, she raised one delicate hand, and gave the door four sharp raps. All noise inside immediately ceased.


	7. Chapter 7

**---Chapter Seven: Both Sides of the Story----**

_What if they don't like me?_ Insecurity began to bubble, though she knew there was no just cause for it. Their voices had been kind, and she sensed no obscene amounts of darkness within the building; just the usual tidbits that plagued everything. Shuffling noises could be heard, and with much more vigor than was required, someone from inside swung open the door. Berri blinked hard against the swarm of light particles that surged out of the now open doorway. The girl smiled nervously, raising one hand in hello while her eyes adjusted their focus.

"So there is somebody home. I am sorry if I interrupted anything, but, this was the only place that seemed to have people in it," she smiled, eyes flickering to the people inside.

"Hey, no problem. Come in," the boy that had opened the door, now that she could see him, was waving her into the room.

Berri stepped casually inside, and turned to close the door, but found the brown-haired stranger had already beaten her to it. There were seven bodies or so scattered about the small space, each one at their own personalized area, and busily working on something. Or, at least, they had been until she had arrived. Now the many pairs of eyes were focused on her expectantly.

"Thanks, uhm," her attention turned to the boy, whose brown hair had been spiked up at odd angles. Riku's hints led her to believe that this rather..spunky character must have been Sora, "my name is Analise, by the way."

"I'm Sora, and this is Donald, and Goofy," he pointed to each person respectively, a bright twinkle in his sky-blue eyes, "And that over there's Cid, then Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie."

She noted Sora's appearance was rather extravagant compared to her own clothing; it was a black outfit primarily, but with reds blues and yellows scattered about all over. Still, as Riku had promised, he seemed very charming. The goofy grin he had assumed did remind her somewhat of her own, and explained part of her silver-haired friend's confusion. Donald, much to her surprise, seemed to be a giant duck. Rather than acting rudely she gave him a particularly kind smile, wondering if it was due to some fairytale curse, or if giant ducks were the norm in some other worlds. Goofy she fell in love with immediately. Of course, she had no idea what he was, but the adorable creature was just radiating sweetness.

When Goofy was introduced, he chuckled with an odd, hiccuping sort of sound, and waved right to her, "Hullo Analise."

"Hi, Goofy, it's nice to meet you."

Cid seemed rather gruff, and at first she thought he had been gnawing on a cigarette. A brief sigh of relief escaped her when he removed it to bark a rough, "howdy," and she saw that it was, in fact, a toothpick.

Leon seemed less inclined to speek, but did dip his head in a nodded hello.

Despite the many personalities that had already made themselves apparent, nothing had quite prepared her for Aerith and Yuffie. The two girls were practically opposites in their greetings, as Aerith had produced a sweet, melodic voice, and Yuffie a loud and overzealous hello, but the light they gave off was eerily similar. It occured to me that the two of them were more intuitive than they appeared, though it was obvious Aerith was more of an observer than Yuffie.

"Wow," Berri grinned, letting one end of her staff tap against the ground, "you all seem..very nice. But, I hope you don't mind me asking," she paused, stepping forward into the room a bit, "Why are all the other buildings so empty?"

Leon, assuming what I took to be the leader's position stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against, and unfolded his arms. He strode forward, belts tinking against each other's metal fastenings. Her attention drove straight to the scar on his face, but he did not seem to notice when he answered, "This world was ransacked by the heartless. Everyone is either missing, or they've left for somewhere safer. We're working to restore the city, and to see if we can't get them to return."

"Oh, really?" the others nodded in agreement, and the girl sighed dreamily, "Well, you must be doing a pretty good job of it, then. I didn't see a single heartless _or_ nobody passing through here."

"You know about the nobodies?" Sora piped in, crystallic eyes widening with shock. It was obvious he thought it rare information, but even his prying gaze was not offensive to her. He seemed genuinely surprised, not suspicious.

"Oh, yeah. I kind of..eavesdropped on somebody," she sheepishly laughed, ruffling the back of her own spiky hair, "they were pretty tall, dressed in all black, with big hoods?" Her free hand moved to make motions of a general height, and the size of the hood, hoping that they would recognize her description as Organization Thirteen. If not, Riku would certainly be concerned.

Sora turned to Goofy, and then Donald, the three of them nodding in unison, "It must have been members of the Organization. What else did they say, Analise?"

She feigned deep thought, chewing on her lip to add a curious effect. It had never been a strongpoint of hers to lie, but acting was a particular talent. Her eyes opened, brighter, when she proceeded with her fake eye-witness account, "They mentioned something about a person named "Roxas," and someone with a strong heart that had a special weapon. I'm pretty sure they called it a keyblade. Quite frankly they didn't seem too happy."

Cid huffed, crunching down on his toothpick again while attempting to resettle the goggles he wore across his forehead, "It wouldn't surprise me if those ruffians weren't too happy. Our boy Sora here's been givin them lot's a' trouble."

Sora grinned shyly, folding his arms securely behind his head, "Just doin' my duty," he announced before lowering his arms again, and leaning closer to inspect Berri's green eyes, "Say, how did you get here anyway?"

"Wha?" She scrunched her nose, brows pulling together, and then shifted her expression into a dismayed frown, "There was a bit of trouble at my hometown. When I woke up everything had gone up in flames. I followed those guys, the ones you said were part of an Organization, but I guess I must have fainted. I found myself down by that stone wall not too long ago."

Leon interrupted the interogation to chide her for wreckless behavior, but beneath the cool and stoic tone, she detected a hint of concern, and general kindness in aiding a stranger, "You need to understand that this organization, Organization Thirteen, is a group of dangerous nobodies. They have powers that normal human beings cannot posess; magic that even some of us can't use. Be warned; they are like the heartless in the sense that they do not have hearts, but more dangerous because they can make you believe they still do. Don't drop your guard around them."

"I won't, I promise. And thank you very much for the warning," the man nodded, resuming his post leaning against the wall, and Berri turned a more passionate gaze on Sora, Donald and Goofy. It was her turn for an important question; "Hey..you haven't seen anyone by the name of Krysta, have you? Or Zee, or Danielle? or even Skylar?"

Donald frowned, or at least, she thought he was frowning, and for the first time decided to speak, "No, sorry." The voice caught her off guard, but she found that it was a genuine response.

Goofy shook his head, confirming the same, and Sora gave her a weak smile before adding, "No, we haven't. I'm real sorry."

Berri sighed, the equivelant of a defeated pout settling onto her face. "It's okay; thanks you guys. I'm sure they're around."

Sora grinned, giving her a generous pat on the shoulder, "That's the spirit. Speaking of missing people, have you seen a boy named Riku? He's kinda tall, with silver hair, and eyes almost the same color as yours," Sora gestured the height as she had before, and then leaned forward expectantly, "with a bit of an attitude problem, too."

She could not keep herself from laughing, and while guilt threatened to grab hold of her, her heart crooned that all would be well. The occupants of the little house spun swifly away from the computer screen Cid had been working away on in order to hear her response. For the briefest of seconds, she thought Sora was on the verge of tears, and so could not help saying, "I think I have met someone that fits that description, actually. He may have been the one that saved my neck back home, but I don't recall any bad attitude, just a little sarcasm."

"Really?!" Sora practically gasped, unable to control himself. He stepped closer, hands flying in wild gestures while he posed impossible to answer questions, "Where did you see him? Is he okay? Did he look hurt? Was the King with him?" the last question hovered on the edge of his tongue, threatening to die before it was asked, but the over exagerrated boy finally managed to spit it out, "Was he looking for me?"

"Well, " the girl hesitated, but found she could not avoid easing his concerns, "In order, I saw him back where I live out in the woods just before you reach the hill at the back of my house, I am not sure what you mean by okay, but he did not seem too upset. I can't say he was hurt, but after he helped me out he did seem rather tired; I pointed him in the direction of an inn, but I have to say he came across as a little stubborn, so I don't think he took the advice. I never saw any king, but he did mention a similarity between my hair, and one of his friend's hairdos, so judging by this, " Berri smiled reassuringly, tugging on one tuft of Sora's spikes, "I can only assume he was talking about you."

Her words heartened him, and the smile in his eyes afterward was the stuff of legends. They all sat around, Berri in particular having to pay close attention to her name. It had ocurred to her before entering the house that using her full first name as opposed to a nickname would provide privacy in the future should she and Riku require it. As the evening wore on, a certain chill began to seep through the walls and beneath the door, but she had barely felt it. Her mind and body were too engrossed in the conversations circling around the room. She discovered that while Sora had once heard the name "Roxas" when an organization member attempted to address him, he was unaware of who the person actually was. The girl was surprised to find that he had assumed it was a form of mental intimidation, and still believed so even after her account of hearing the name again. At times during their inquiries, she thought him a bit too naive, a bit too unsuspecting, and then realized with a grin that she was the exact same way. Sora even took her out under the stars on one occasion to test her skills with the staff. Despite all of her embarrassment at knowing that somewhere, lurking beyond the shadows, Riku was watching her epic failure at weaponry, she could not conceal her awe at discovering that Sora was the keyblade weilder. Over the course of an hour and a half she managed to alter her gymnastics training into a form of unconventional, but very effective self-defense. The Keyblade Weilder nodded his approval, chuckled, and dragged her back inside.

"You learn fast!"

"Ha, thanks, Sora."

"So, are you really travelling all by yourself?" he pursed his lips, quite an amusing sight to her, but said nothing more while waiting for a reply.

"Yes, I guess I am. I really don't mind, though, it won't keep me from visiting people. I came to talk to you guys, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you did," the boy plopped down in a little wooden chair, ignoring the ricketing sounds, "I know it's hard setting off without knowing where all your friends are..Riku and I went through a lot of trouble to find our friend Kairi, but when we finally did, I lost both of them all over again.."

Donald and Goofy frowned, hovering closer to their friend. The duck gave the boy a pat on the shoulder, "Aw, don't worry, Sora."

"Yeah," chimed Goofy, "Kairi's back home, remember? And, uh, we saw Riku go with the King, right? They must be okay!"

She smiled at the two before turning back to Sora, "I'm sure they're right. Based on what you've told me so far there isn't a person alive that can take you three down."

"Yeah, you guys are right," Sora grinned, a lop-sided smile, "I bet Kairi's waitin' for both of us, and you know what? I can't wait to show Riku how strong I've gotten; I bet I'll finally be able to beat him in spar!

Berri laughed heartily, probably more loudly than was needed._ God, Riku..I hope you're hearing this._


	8. Chapter 8

**---Chapter Eight: You Simply Can't---**

The next morning began slowly, but it did not put a damper in Berri's self-confident mood. She had really done it; she had gotten the information Riku needed, met the famous Keyblade weilder, and made new friends all over the course of one evening and late night conversation. It had never been so easy in her previous world, especially since everyone had _known_. How could she have been expected to make friends when they looked at her so? Of course, there had been a few, and those precious gems were worth going after.

Many times throughout her restless sleep she had wondered what they were doing. Her mind was not allowed to consider the consequences of their hearts being stolen away by the fiery heartless, or even yellow-eyed shadows. She could not bear the thought of that being a reality, and so amused herself with imaginary pictures of them strolling down cobblestone paths that led to ancient castles with knights and dragons; places like that would have thrilled both Zee and Krysta for sure. They were hopeless romantics after all.

Light still eerily crept over the rooftops, and Sora's reckless snoring reassured her somehow. The others had dispersed to their own corners, and secret hideaways meant for sleeping while Cid, and a man named Merlin, had remained in the house with her, the crazy spikey-haired boy, Donald, and Goofy. She heard the door creak ever so softly, but refused to move, or even breathe after that fact. It was not the gentle swing or practiced step of someone that knew they belonged there in the first place. The air buzzed, tingling, and she felt the signature darkness brush against her skin. It was Riku. Immediately the girl fell into her best act of sleep she had ever performed while her body shifted to high alert. Every shift in the world about her was caught, stored, and made ready to use at a later opportunity. The boots Riku wore sounded so similiar to Krysta's that Berri's heart ached. He crept forward, and while she felt him pause near Sora, it astonished her when the boy moved over to her instead.

The figure of her friend hovered by silently, and she could sense discontent, confusion, remorse, and was that..jealousy? His cloak's fabric rustled as the boy knelt down beside the mat where she lay, still feigning an adventure off in dreamland. His gloved fingers brushed aside her hair, and she was thankful to the dark of early dawn that hid her rosey cheeks. He sighed, her friend, and she could feel his sea-green eyes boring into her very soul.

"Why," he whispered, "why is it so easy for you? Aren't you frightened?" she felt his hands again, this time tucking the wry strands of her hair behind an ear, "Maybe my heart really is as weak as he says.."

The urge to comfort him was too great for words to express. All the world of Hollow Bastion melted at the sadness and longing that permeated his voice so thickly. Berri knew better, though. He would have been ashamed upon knowing what she had discovered. _You're wrong,_ she thought to herself, giving the words power so that they might find a way into his very heart, _only you make it easy for me._ As quickly as he had arrived, Riku slipped away noiselessly. He had impeccable timing, for as soon as the door closed out the flickering light that signaled it was time to awaken, Sora snorted, rolled a quarter of the way over, and snapped open crystal blue eyes. She peeked, wondering if he, too, had sensed the presence of a long lost friend; a friend who was ever near, but believed themselves to be lost beyond recognition. It was too difficult for her to think of him as hopeless, and so she suffocated the notion.

As everyone stretched, cracking joints and smoothing out stiff limbs, she sat herself at the table near the door, glancing every so often at the draperies covering the window. Why did they keep them closed? It was a question that plagued her, though she knew it was her heart's final attempt at a distraction for some other question--no, some other truth that was working fruitlessly to pry its way into her foremost of thoughts. Donald's early morning squabble with Goofy distracted her, and in that moment of discontent, she let her mind wander. Krysta had always said that "a wandering mind is a dangerous thing," and until that very moment the girl hadn't the slightest of clues just how true the statement ahd been. She cringed as every muscle within her body wretched, screaming in agony that words could not describe. The truth had been rooted inside her skull, and was quickly spreading to every appendage, numbing her body with its gravity. The window was closed because the glass was thin, and without the drapes, the howling wind would have been too harsh, too loud. It was a feeble protection, but the coarse, woven fabric did its job well after Cid had pinned both flaps together to create a sort of wall. Her mind giggled, taunted, and laughed at her ignorance. Riku had not needed a spy. Eavesdropping would have been all too easy. That truth hurt, but it was a minor complication. The next wave of reality that hit her nearly tore the girl's heart in fours. Riku was not coming back for her.

Her body became aware of the prickling sensation and bristling of neck hairs that could only be attributed to staring eyes, and with a start the teen realized that she had shot bolt upright into a standing position without a word, and Goofy was staring at her. Donald and Sora were squabbling then, and the buck-toothed creature stepped awkwardly forward. It amazed her that he could walk with such bowed legs, but the thing managed just fine. He looked at her innocently with big, oval eyes, and she swore for a moment that he could understand. Of course, it was impossible for Goofy to have read her mind, _but what if he can read my heart?_ The creature smiled knowingly, and before she knew it, her body was encompased in a nice, snug hug. It was comforting despite her current state of despair, and with a forlorn grin, she thanked him.

"Aw, nonsense, Analise," he quickly stated, "A-hyuck! That's what friends are for!"

"Yeah!" Sora chimed in, despite her embarrassment at being caught utterly defenseless.

"He's right, you know," concluded Donald, and the other two made their way over with Donald adding his own cautious hug, and Sora giving her a light pat on the shoulder.

"You guys are sweet," she beamed, even as the lie formed itself on her lips, "but I'm just going to go for a walk, okay? I promise I will be back soon."

They let her go without argument, but all three had taken great care to speak through their eyes. Every one of her new friends wanted her to understand that she could leave, and always come back. That sense of comfort followed her as she grabbed her weapon and slipped outside the owl-carving doorframe of Cid's computer workshop. The city should have been buzzing to life, but because it lacked a substantial amount of occupants, the silence was the only defeaning feature she could locate. Her feet moved of their own accord, dragging her down and around the winding pathways that must have been familiar to some poor, lost creature. Nothing made one feel pity for the lost than being relocated. After what felt like hours she came across a staircase tucked neatly behind a curve in the path, and started up. The top view was rather unimpressive, and led her eyes to gaze upon nothing more than crevices filled with a swarming black sea, and a towering castle--no. Panic seized her, and the girl flung herself toward the decaying railing that had once prevented people like herself from leaning too far over the bailey's edge. It was no see that met her gaze, but instead a swarming mass of heartless; a countless number of black bodies composed of nothing more than darkness, and the desire to take the hearts of unsuspecting beings. The spectacle shook her to the very marrow, and with great difficulty Berri tore herself away from the crumbling stone wall, and stepped further down inside the guarding wall of Hollow Bastion. Not only had she lost the friend she had sworn to protect, she had let him escape from her in a place infested with dastardly critters.

As she marched along, listening to the reverberating echoes of her own feet and the dragging blade of her double-headed spear, the girl imagined she could feel despair. It was a disgusting, slimy substance that clung to the inner walls of your heart, suffocating it. She knew if it had posessed a smell, it could have ripped the color right out of obsidian with a single waft of the obscene scent. Her mind dulled as she stopped halfway past a section of open wall, possibly made for ancient scouts. The emerald eyes of hers scanned over the gray stones, inspecting the dimples and imperfections in the stone that harbored shadows like fog settling between the mountains in her valley back home. Where would Riku go? How would he survive? How would she survive without him? More questions formed like twisting shapes of mist upon the ocean, dancing around menacingly in her head. _He left of his own free will, Berri,_ the shadows whispered, coaxing her forward to the hole in the wall, _He did not need your company, anyway. You would have dragged him down. Not really a friend. Useless, Pathetic. Girl. Damsel in Distress._

The thoughts became briefer, sharper, but no less painful until she shook her head so roughly she experienced a sudden rush of vertigo. a throbbing sensation crept through her body, but the girl let it slide away. As her eyes pinned themselves once more to the throng of thousands of heartless, she felt her fear turn bitterly cold. What if Riku had gone to fight? It did seem the sort of thing he would do, after all. Her ears sounded the alarm long before they relayed the message echoing all about her. There were footsteps, quiet, practiced, even. The girl looked up from her dazed state only to see a figure cloaked in black standing not to far away. The way in which they carried themself seemed cautious, and he very well should have been considering the heart attack Berri had been given.

Her sigh of relief seemed far to loud in the confined space, but when she finally did speak the words flowed as naturally as water down a stream, "Riku! Oh, thank goodness," Berri stepped closer to him, no longer dragging the stick with disappointment, "I am so glad you finally came back. I haven't the slightest clue what changed your mind, but I am very glad you kept your promise," her voice faltered, only because her words were strong, and with strong words comes a sense of fear, "Please, don't ever leave me again, okay? I know you're going to argue, but you can't. It's really not a difficult concept, you simply can't go running off without me again, okay? I don't...I don't want you to be alone any more."

The heart within her fluttered contentedly now that despair had been scorched, burned, and torn from its secret place beneath her very being. The figure nodded absentmindedly, extending one hand to place a curled finger under her chin. He lifted her face, and smiled, but the glittering teeth held a sinister connotation, and right before her eyes Berri saw the hood slide back to reveal someone she had never before set eyes on. It was not Riku. The man was cold, empty, and for a moment she was shocked she had not sensed the gaping hole in his spirit where a heart should have been. It was an empty vessel, and with a crashing wave of fury all of Riku's words, all of Leon's warnings, and every scrap of information she had gained on Organization Thirteen came rushing back far too late to be of any use.

His eyes were golden yellow, hair as blue as her eyes were green, and on the man's face there was a scar, x-shaped, and rather fitting considering she wished he would be crossed out of the world. The grin faded far too soon, and his empty eyes locked on hers. It was a vain attempt, but she could sense he tried to portray amusement at her bumbling, and took great care to whisper, "I will be sure to give him the message for you, dear Analise."

It took only seconds, and she knew no more. His hand moved away from her face, and her own gripped the double-headed spear tightly, but before she could act he had plunged a hand wreathed in darkness into her body. The shockwave would have killed a horse. Berri gasped, relinquishing her weapon with little protest, and felt the edges of her vision blurr before blacking out completely. It hurt, but not in a physical way. The pain was a suffocating blanket of darkness, and as she fell, she swore she was preceeded by tears. After all, who wouldn't cry? Not only had she lost Riku, she had let herself get caught up in more trouble, despite all his worry, and what always happened when the damsel in distress was finally captured? The same thing that had once happened to Robin Hood. The hero was trapped, snared, brutally broken.. She did not want to think about it, and the organization member's darkness was at least good for that. Her vision erased completely, and the girl fell into a deep unconsciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

**---Chapter Nine: Hit Me With Your Best Shot---**

Awareness. Sometimes it could be quite the bother. Light flared beyond her frozen lids, dancing and twirling in such an odd manor that she considered it nothing more than a nusiance when its beauty may well have been the comfort she needed. Her body ached with a soreness she could not describe, for its source was not something she had ever encountered before. It was more than a physical pain. The fatigue caused by her leaden limbs spread to the spirit, the very esence of light, and drugged it into a numbing slumber that was frequently interrupted by pin-pricking needles of discomfort. Whatever. Sleep was the only obvious solution, but despite the past four hours of fruitless effort, immaculate peace had continued to evade Berri. Some inhibition of hers would not allow sleeping at a time like this..but what time was it, anyway?

The air was cold, but the sensation welcomed her more than anything else. It chilled the pain, slowly washing it away, and drew her down into a blanket of comfort that she had begun to miss. Her mind spun, grasping for that last realization: she missed something, but what was it? What was she lacking now? A cool flutter of a breeze passed over her again, and sleep began to whisper longingly. It whistled between the bars and--_wait, bars?! When did those get there??_

Berri sat bolt upright, and immediately regretted her decision. She was not yet well. An uncomfortable groan slipped past her lips and one arm went subconsciously to grasp her abdomen where the stranger had attacked earlier. Memories flickered to life in her still mind and danced, painting pictures on the inside walls of her heart. Up until the point where her consciousness was lost, her past endevours told a story of a girl who needed a serious reality check. Riku was sure to be in danger due to her lack of common sense. Not only had she lost her concentration in front of a fiery heartless, which resulted in a need for rescue, she had acted carelessly in front of the most dangerous form of nobody yet discovered. At any rate, she would not have blamed the silver-haired boy for refusing to rescue her again in the first place. What had she done to deserve his help, anyway? _Oh, enough, Berri. No more pity parties._

Once her throbbing ribs' complaints subsided, the teen got to her feet. Her legs shook, knees knocking together, but eventually she managed to shoot out a hand to grab the wall just in time to avoid a fall. The wall itself was smooth as glass, and curved so that her holding cell sat in a circular form. The bars were purple, and from a distance, their gentle humming glow seemed an almost delicate thing._ How long have I been here?_ she thought glumly to herself before wobbling forward to get a better look around. White. A lot of white. Somebody had not been paying particular attention to decoration, it seemed. There were more cells in front of her, and to the sides of those, but as far as the girl could tell every last one of them was empty. A frustrated sigh echoed about her cell before the soundwaves crept out, rippling down the hallway walls. Someone must have heard them, for it was only a matter of seconds before another black cloak appeared before her. The girl took a step back away from the purple bars, and attempted to look as indifferent as possible. She noticed something that had not occurred to her before; the build of this stranger was rather petite, though not completely feminine. They were unusually tall, and something about their coat and sleeves seemed to have been altered. The face inside the hood smiled, and as they stepped forward she could tell by the gait that it was, in fact, a boy.

"Well, lookey here," the voice crooned in an almost taunting manner, "it's a little girl."

Under normal circumstances she would have argued, but information was more important. Berri sighed, giving a light roll of her emerald green eyes, and flattened her voice until it lost all dimension of feeling before commanding, "What is your name?"

The man chuckled in his light voice, and leaned forward only to draw back the hood that had concealed his face, "Axel, A-X-E-L," he stated, wagging a finger for each letter even though my eyes were more focused on the flaming red spikes of hair. Axel tapped his temple, assuring that he had Berri's attention before finishing, "Got it memorized?"

"Yes, I think I can handle that one, Axel."

"Soo, Analise, what were you doin' sneakin' around with the keyblade weilder? Don't you know he's got a girl?"

The ease with which she composed her features alarmed the girl. Acting unafraid was one thing, but she had managed to convince herself that fear was an enigma, a nonexistant emotion that was thoroughly unwelcome within her heart. Ultimately, she had banished it.

Another, less dreary and more bored sigh slipped out of her delicate frame, "Yes, I am aware "He's got a girl," thank you very much. Now, are you supposed to be a member of Organization Thirteen, or not?"

He was smooth, but not quite quick enough to conceal the brief tint of confusion that followed her statement. Axel quickly recovered, resorting to his usual sultry style of speaking, "Supposed to be? I'm the real deal, sweetheart."

Berri wanted to press him further in an attempt to gather information, but with a curt nod, and a hoarse "later" Axel was gone. The girl muttered to herself, turning her back to the still glowing purple bars and other empty cells that reminded her of where she wasn't. Riku was gone, and hopefully, not looking for her. At any rate the stillness of the holding cell gave her time to think. Her friends were gone as well, and given her current situation, there was no looking for them. She chided herself for not giving Riku, or even Sora a better description of them all. They would have at least been able to peek around whatever worlds came across their path for her missing companions. Her heart contracted in a whispering sob at the repeated realization that she had no family to search for. It had been a long time since their deaths, and losing her friends, too, seemed too high a price to pay. The despair turned to anger, and even as she stood there, eyes narrowing at the wall, Berri could feel the flames licking inside her very soul. Each spark flared up, raging until she feared it might burn her from the inside out. They would not be allowed to take her friends away from her, no matter what cost it was to herself.

Her epiphany was cut short by the firm and rythmatic clack of leather boot soles on the tile flooring just outside her cage. The steady footsteps came to a stop directly behind her, and were met by her steel gaze. Berri did not bother to turn around; she had guessed who it was just by peeking over her shoulder. They were almost the same height as Riku, with a similar build and an "x-shaped" scar across their face.

"Hello, Analise," the stranger droned, eyes glittering with what his face could not conform to display, "have you slept well?"

"No."

Instead of deterring him, her flat tone seemed to fuel the strangers sick amusement. Had there not been bars between them Berri would have liked to smack the smirk right off his face, "So sorry. I must say, though, that speech you gave me was rather impressive."

He had begun pacing slowly back and forth, his stride leisurely, comfortable...and she wanted so badly to trip him. "Well, I have been known to be a rather good orator," the girl grinned sweetly, matching his vocabulary and diction. It was a game she had often played with Zee where each of them used more complicated words and phrasing until one had to give up. She was sure he would win.

The stranger chuckled, a dry, empty sound, and stopped his pacing to add, "I see. Well, rest assured, I delivered your message with great vigilance, although..I cannot say he was very happy to see me."

Ever bone in her body was screaming at her not to take the bait, but the girl involuntarily turned, narrowed her eyes, and growled, "And he won't have to see you again if you have even a scrap of your intelligence left!"

Berri lost her edge when the stranger moved closer, yellow eyes narrowing to a near dangerous level, "I do not reccomend you take that path. Your fate would be very..undesirable."

"That would have more of an impact if I believed in fate in the first place, don't you think?"

"We'll see."

And just like that, he was gone, strolling down some odd corridor with a haircut that she would have very much enjoyed sawing off. Of course, he had made one fatal error. It was typical of villains to become c onfident, but considering their reputation, Berri had expected more of Organization thirteen. They had left her unattended in a cell where the bars were quite obviously spaced far enough apart for her to squeeze through. Her mind began calculating, pushing Riku's possible danger to the forefront of her mind as a motivational source. If she could escape the cell, where would she go? Both Axel and the scarred stranger had exited in the same direction, but if that meant there was only one singular path to take out of the holding area, she was more likely to be caught. It was a risk she was willing to take.

The girl sighed, suddenly relieved that she had not eaten in a while. Again, the question of how long she had been imprisoned surfaced, but it was quickly brushed aside. Her ears strained, catching even the lightest shift in breeze until she was certain the sounds careening about the area were those of utter solitude. She turned sideways and began wedging her foot through the bars. It was an easy task right up until the purple glow began to spark, striking out at her skin until it burned. The sensation was altogether unpleasant, but not completely unbearable, and so she pushed on. Her hips were another matter considering their size in comparison to the rest of her body. Damn being a girl. Next came her right shoulder, and Berri turned her head, squeezing that through as well. She could almost hear her hair complaining as it popped and frizzed along with the electrical current surging through the bars and into her person. Her butt squished through with a slight amount of effort, then her second shoulder, and from there on out it was all arm and leg, which took no effort that gravity could not provide on its own. Berri collapsed with a not-so-gentle thud on the tile flooring and huffed, letting out air to ease her landing. Purple sparks crawled across her skin for another few seconds, but they too faded into nothingness once she began to move again. It could not have been so easy; the girl was certain of an alarm system.

Getting to her feet was a blur, and she did not realize she was running until the cages began to fly by. It shocked her momentarily to find how few there were, but it was not a time to marvel at structure or architectural planning, despite how appetizing it sounded. Her feet flew, scarf flailing behind her feathery hair like the outstretched wings of a demon. Her lungs burned with the desire for more oxygen, but she deprived them, fearing the sound of quickened breath would draw the nobodies to her much sooner than she wanted. Much to her dismay the end of the long tunnel resulted in flights of stairs, and after picking a direction she found herself in an area that resembled a ground floor, though it still consisted of stark white decoration. Berri bolted for the door and flung open only to find a second hallway. She groaned, backtracking in such haste that she did not see the obstacle before her until the two collided, landing in a muddled heap upon the floor.

Her eyes faded, blurred, and finally came back into focus in time to see black. She felt terror rise to her throat, but no scream came. How had they caught her so quickly?! Her limbs became cold, each finger shaking in turn as the girl pushed herself back in a stumbling motion. It had been a difficult task, rising to her feet again, and once she managed that the gloved hand of the figure before her had wrapped around her wrist. The grip was firm, but not cruelly so, and even as she went to pull back, they insistantly tugged her forward.

"Berri!"

All struggle ceased when the figure spoke. A bubbling wave of relief trickled down from her brain and into the very soles of her shoes. The girl sighed heavily so that it almost sounded like a sob before launching herself forward. She wrapped her arms around the familiar figure of a boy with silver hair, drinking in the fact that he was a solid being..not to mention he smelled pretty good, too.

"Riku! I'm so glad you're okay," she calmed her voice as the sentence wore on, snuggling comfortably into the hug that he, as usual, had not yet returned.

"Wh--Are you..?" He could not find the words, but it did not bother her any. It was perfeclty clear in her mind that her concern was misplaced considering she had been the one kidnapped. Almost as if in a trance she felt Riku wrap one arm tentatively around her shoulders, while the other hovered about as if he were preparing to pull a rabbit out of the air. She didn't care..she couldn't care. The man with the x-shaped scar had not gotten to him, and that was all that mattered.

Berri felt his grip tighten, but the brief hope she had experienced was snuffed out as soon as her realization spread to include the fact that his entire body was stiff. Something was wrong. She reluctantly loosened her arms in order to turn her head, and the sight that met her eyes was not a welcome one. It was the same man with his yellow eyes, and gray-blue hair. Her observations ceased when Riku pulled her gently around to stand a half-step behind him, but his arm never left her shoulders.

Her silver-haired friend's eyes narrowed, voice cracking like lightning across the hall as he voiced the invader's name. Berri shuddered, practically watching the venom drip off every letter of, "Sai'x," and wondered curiously what the scarred man had done to earn such a degree of dislike..or even hatred.

It occurred to her then that she had not escaped. He must have known she would get lost, and Berri sighed, cursing her naivety once again.

Sai'x lifted his chin defiantly, and began to lecture, "You would do well to let him go, girl. He has proven many times over that he prefers darkness over any of his so-called friends. Look at him! The darkness has completely consumed his body..it is only a matter of time before he betrays you as well."

The organization member was speaking again, but her ears could not register the words. It was not worth it. Instead the girl turned, tugging gently on Riku's sleeve, desperately hoping he would calm enough to look at her.

While obviously difficult the green eyes she had missed so much finally diverted their attention in time for her to whisper, "We can't fight here."

"Well why not?!"

"Shhh, calm down," Berri gave his arm a pat, hoping Sai'x would not sense their unease. Even she could feel the wall splitting between them. Riku couldn't understand why she did not want to fight, and it seemed that he would not leave without an argument, "I don't have my weapon, and this is his turf, not ours..if we both stay and fight you'll be stuck protecting me, and that leaves you open to get hurt."

Berri studiously inspected his face. She watched the creases smooth, the muscles relax, but the fire never did leave his eyes. He needed this fight. Whatever pain Sai'x had caused, he needed to rectify. She sighed, giving his middle one final squeeze, and cut off his agreement before it could come, "Send me away."

"Are you craz--?!"

"No. I'm serious. You need this fight, I can tell, so send me away," She stepped back away from him, hands raised, and delicately curved fingers waving to gather his attention, "I trust you, Riku, I know you'll come back, but if staying here means I will put you in danger then I can't do it."

Sai'x had begun to chuckle, and Berri snaped a vicious glare in his direction. It was unfortunate he had no heart, otherwise her gaze would have struck him harder than any other notion of fear would have been. After all, hell hath no fury like a woman..period. Instead of cowering in the corner as she would have liked him to do, the scarred adversary raised his hands, calling forth the powers darkness had bestowed on his empty, cavernous person. Nobodies she had never set eyes on before appeared slowly as great bodies of silvery white. They were large, far taller than even Riku was, and seemed to carry a plank of some foreign material. At first she thought it shaped like a guitar, for it was narrower near the top than the bottom, but her mind eventually settled on "paddle-shaped weapons with hockey-stick patterns."

The stood statuesque and silent, until of course their master gave the signal. The four she could see immediately shifted positions, sliding one massive foot backward in preparation. She was stunned by the speed at which they glided forward, and even moreso shocked to see that they were in fact gliding, and not running. There were no visible skates or wheels, no slick surface they could be using to lessen the friction..just, gliding giants. Riku stepped ahead, slashing the air with a weapon she had not seen him use before. It was brightly colored, reds and blues alike, but he moved it so quickly that she thought perhaps it was an extension of his arm. Her own distracted gaze had been an unwise decision, and at the last minute Berri had to throw herself into a backhand sprink to avoid being knocked flat unconscious by one of the massive creatures.

_Of course, _she thought, _nobody ever does their own dirty work._

Her sudden movement lit a spark deep within the fighting spirit her ancestors had left behind. She could evade them easily..even with their speed, it was obvious the creatures would only move quickly in straight lines and gentle curves. Any sharp movement from her would be uncounterable. She could turn her body into a weapon, and that meant she would not have to abandon Riku! One being fell to Riku's swift movements, and he paused, turning to look at her.

"Go after Sai'x!" her voice was strong, so much so that it surprised both her and her silver-haired friend. He nodded, bolting forward, and left the remaining three nobodies to her. Each swing drew them closer. She watched them stagger from the force of their own blows as the paddle-like weapons met air where she herself had once been. Her limbs began to tire, but adrenaline soon fed their cries, and a wave of new strength washed through her.

Berri slipped and dipped, flipped and rolled, all the while drawing the nobodies closer together. They were more intelligent than heartless according to Leon, but no smarter than a human, and so the great silver beasts did not realize her trap until they stumbled right into it. As soon as the first finished swinging and staggered forward, Berri dropped to her stomach. The second swung, followed through, and collided with the first attacking nobody. Upon being struck in the head and shoulders the creature fell, sliding across the floor so that it tripped the third remaining opponent. The nobody on the floor fizzled away, fading into darkness once more as the toppled creature swiftly rose to their feet.

A wayward firing of dark energy buzzed past her head. The girl flinched, shocked at how narrowly she had avoided being singed by one of Riku's blasts. That thought led to another, and in the midst of her struggle to get back to her feet, she stole a glance at her friend. He had been hit square in the back of the shoulders, but thankfully by the blunt end of an object. Already he was righting his balance, and spinning back for another attack. Only then did she realize the nobody behind her had not been quite as fortunate as its pray, for the creature was flailing for its face. Riku's blast had hit, and in mere seconds, they were on the floor fading into nothingness.

The fighterless weapon crashed to the ground, and Berri hoisted it up as a shield while the last remaining nobody skated forward to attack her. She braced herself behind the padde, surprised that it was not only larger than her, but considerably heavier than she would have guessed. It did, however, perform beautifully as a shield. The nobody battered it relentlessly, but her bracing had been impeccable. She understood the physics behind it, and so after the fifth swing, the nobody pulled back, ready to unleash something more powerful. The girl dropped her makeshift shiled and dove forward past its legs, rolling back onto her feet behind him. Instead of stumbling forward as she had hoped, and as they had done in the past, the creature used the momentum of their swing to spin, following her. In the split second she had, Berri knew two things; she was going to be hit with the wide, flat side of the paddle, and it would hurt a lot less if she was limp. Her limbs hung slack as contact occurred, and the girl went flying across the hallway. Her vision was white, and pain became apparent, but it was nothing compared to some other injuries she had aquired in gymnastics. Riku's voice cut through the fog her mind had settled in, and very slowly the blank white began to ebb away. The nobody was charging at her again. She pushed herself back using her legs, and felt her spine collide softly with one of the marble pillars lining the hallway. Bracing herself, the girl used her feet to push, and the pillar for support, so that she stood, leaning against it just as the great creature swung its paddle a second time. Her mind snapped back to peak performance, and Berri bent her knees, crouching low just in time to dive in the direction the attack had come from.

The nobody hit the pillar, and did in fact stumble forward a quarter-step. The marble cracked up to the ceiling and broke off, falling in a dangerously heavy heap atop its head, shoulders, and back. Needless to say, the creature had been defeated. Berri stumbled in an attempt to regain her footing, and found a strong arm under her own in the process. Her emerald eyes turned towards the end of the hallway to see where Sai'x was, but all that effort met was a closing portal of darkness. He had fled. She became faintly aware that somebody somewhere was calling her name, shaking her by the shoulders.

"Berri..? Hey, Berri?"

"What?"

"What? That's all I get is a what?! You almost killed yourself!"

Her green orbs of sight turned up to meet Riku's. He looked immediately alarmed by their hazy state, and she would have sworn they were glazed over, for her vision had once again fallen below par. "I did?"

He sighed, hands tightly gripping her shoulders, and hung his head, "I cannot believe you.."

"You're okay, right?" she stared, searchingly, and set her hands on his arms.

"Yes, I'm fine, but..why do you care?"

"Huh?" She was confused. Bitterly and utterly confused. Riku seemed to sense it, and she saw it in his gaze; it had been a serious question.

"Why do you care?"

Reiterating it did not make the blow less painful, as Berri had hoped it would. No, it simply made the cut deeper, and she frowned. The heartbreak on her face must have been as strong as what she felt, and she could see it reflected in his large aquamarine eyes. The girl released his arms, blinking through what little fog was left hanging amongst her thoughts, and lamely stammered, "You're my friend.."

"You heard what he said! I'm worthless..I am darkness, Berri. Do you understand that?"

"You are a very silly boy," She smiled, shaking her head a bit. Berri stepped back to lean dizzily against the marble column closest to her, sorting through the many words she knew for the ones that would mend his broken faith, "I don't care what he said, because actions speak louder than words. You always listen, you always come to my rescue, you have never done anything to hurt me, nor have you given me any cause to think you would..and even when you left me with Sora you didn't do it because you were trying to abandon me--and don't you dare say you did just for the sake of argument, I can tell when you're lying. You've got open books for eyes. I trust you, I always will, and there's nothing you can do to change that," with each word her strength returned, burning stronger than it had since her parent's death..since she had lost Jacob, her brother, and also her best friend until Zee, "Now. The floor is open for arguments...hit me with your best shot, Riku."

Her female intuition warned a storm was coming, but not exactly the kind of storm her brain had been expecting. He was not angry; his features did not display any signs of angry agitation, nor did he seem frustrated, annoyed, or even disgusted with her more than mushy flow of words. Instead, he hung his head, silver hair draping over his face, "what do you mean, my eyes are open books? These aren't even my eyes..Sai'x even told you so. I let the darkness take over my body..it isn't even mine any more."

Berri frowned, thoroughly shocked he picked THAT of all the things in her speech to comment on. She stepped forward, looking up into his face. A glimmer of jealousy for his height passed through her, but it was quickly repressed by the task at hand, "I see a boy with pale skin, shaggy silver hair that falls just a little too long over his eyes--which are a lovely shade of aquamarine, might I add--and a heart so full of compassion that he seems to have confused it with weakness at one point in time," the girl smiled, gently poking his nose, "I know you are good, even if you may not think so. It's not really a complicat--"

She felt a finger over her mouth, and his eyes locked on to hers, "You can see me? You really see everything you just said?"

A second wave of confusion threatened to consume the girl, but she let it pass, and nodded once. The next thing she knew, Riku had his arms around her shoulders in the first real hug he had ever managed to give her. At first she could not move for fear of breaking whatever spell had managed to settle over him, but her arms soon linked around his torso again, and Berri sighed, taking in the oddly sweet scent he seemed to carry around. Finally he stepped back, taking her hand, and the girl followed as he led her towards a freshly forming portal of darkness. He did not speak until they were safe inside the corridor, and when he did, it was a simple "Thank you."

"Of course," she chirped, her cheeks burning upon the realization that he had not yet let go of her hand, "So..Sora misses you.."

"Yeah..I was listening. He still hasn't gotten any smarter, though."

She could not help but laugh. There had been no ill intention in his voice, so she assumed it was a..heartfelt insult. "He is very nice. I can see why you two are friends."

"I don't deserve him..or Kairi..or you."

"Of course you do..otherwise we wouldn't be here."


	10. Chapter 10

**--Chapter Ten: So we meet again--**

The end of the corridor did not lead to Hollow Bastion. Instead they came out into snow. Berri had never seen snow up close, and had often spent her lazy winter days gazing out the window at snow-capped mountains, imagining what it would be like to feel the crunch of powdery ice beneath her feet. That day had finally come, and she was living it up. Her eyes brightened, flickering with the light of a child's curiosity. The girl pulled away from Riku's side to look around. She spun twice, three times, and then a forth as snowflakes fell, settling into her raven-black hair. Her attention turned back to him, as he was staring.

Feeling she needed to explain herself, Berri managed to breathe "It's _snowing._"

He chuckled a bit, much to her dismay, and walked over to the same patch of freshly fallen snow she had landed herself in, "I can see that."

"I've never seen snow up close before," Her voice trailed away as she crouched down, resting her arms delicately across her knees to stare down at the white frosty floor. She finally worked up the courage to scoop some of it up in herhands, and crinkled her nose at the way it packed together so easily.

"It looks pretty, but be careful. It can bury you."

Berri gave a short, humorless laugh and let the packed snow clump drop out of her hand, "I guess most pretty things have a flipside, don't they? Oh well..I think it's calming anyway."

Riku stepped forward through the still falling flakes of ice, and Berri followed. They were on a ledge settled very neatly into a mountainside. Cliffs splayed out beneath them, and as they got lower, the snow began to disappear until finally there lay a green valley with a square shaped city nestled comfortably inside.

"Oh, wow," She grinned, careful not to step too close to the edge. "Have you been here before?"

"Once. I did not meet anyone."

The nostalgic look on his face worried her. Berri crunched her way closer, vaguely becoming aware of her shivering limbs. When he finally noticed she was standing next to him, eyes wide with concern, Riku blinked. She pursed her lips, and set her hands on her hips, "What's wrong?"

"I just can't figure you out," he started, voice strong, but uncertain of wether or not he should finish speaking. When Riku finally reached his resolve, he turned to face her completely, "You can see me..the real me. How I'm supposed to look..and nobody else can. Why is that? And you can disperse darkness, whether you've realized that yet or not..You were hit full on by that nobody, and yet here you are, a little bruised, but not really hurt...you barely know me, and even after Sai'x told you what I've done, you still claim to care about me. I've been trying to figure out what you could possibly get out of sticking around, but my mind keeps bringing me back to _nothing._ You have absolutely _nothing_ to gain from being this kind to me, so there's nothing else I can do but assume you're telling me the truth.."

"You keep saying that..are you supposed to be invisible or something?"

She heard the bitter laugh, and was immediately sorry she'd asked. Riku did not seem angry, but the glum mood that had settled over him could not be ignored. He waved her forward, and began crunching off throw the snow and around an outcropped section of rock, "I'll show you."

The path they took was a thin strip of icy rock. The constant twisting, bending, and snaking they had to do just to make it around the edge of the cliff brought to her attention just how bruised her body was. Every movement was becoming painful, and Berri cursed her own body for numbing up the injury. It had lured her into a false sense of security, and she was now paying for it. Her slow progress went unnoticed, and the dark sensation rippling away from her silver-haired friend's thoughts sent a chill down the girl's spine. He was obviously reliving painful memories, and she wanted more than anything to reach out and brush them away. It just wasn't fair.

Berri crept closer to him, not wanting to make the difficulty she was having apparent. Moments later the thin crackling trail of frozen stone widened, and eventually spread out into a curved, U-shaped area packed with snow. Cutting down the center was a river of ice, and further down to the other end of the bend was a waterfall, stopped in time. Riku walked forward towards the frozen waterfall, and drew Berri closer, gesturing to the ice. At first, she did not understand, but when the two of them finally looked into the reflections, she heard herself gasp. The face looking back at Riku was not the face she was used to seeing. His aquamarine eyes were golden yellow, much like the Sai'x's had been. Not only that, his hair was longer, cut so that no bangs fell before his face at all, and to top it off, the skin was not the creamy pale hue she knew. She rubbed her fingers together, trying to strike some warmth into the stationary limbs while she stared. It wasn't Riku..it couldn't be Riku. Berri extended her hand slowly to brush her fingertips gently against the glassy ice. It was real, and so the reflection had to be real as well. His reflection's expression shifted into that of a grimace, and Berri turned to look at the real silver-haired boy.

"I don't understand..you don't look like that to me at all."

"I'm not supposed to look like this," his eyes softened into quiet contemplation as Riku himself touched a hand to his reflection, "What you described as seeing when you looked at me is how I used to appear, before I gave in."

She did not want to pry, but her mouth seemed to be moving of its own accord, "Gave in..?"

"Ah," He let go of his previous thought, and the girl watched as Riku's hand fell away from the ice, "it's a long story."

She refused to be dettered, and stepped between her friend and his reflection only to look up at his face, once more cursing her height, and put on her best pleading expression before saying, "If you tell me yours, I will tell you mine."

Riku agreed, but insisted that they pick their way down the mountain in the process. Berri listened intently, letting his words carry her away to other worlds, past times, and past hurts. The story that seemed to bring him so much same seemed to her a wonderful display of a tragic hero..but this time, it had a happy ending. Her curious nature led her to consider interrupting with questions or comments, but the look on his face always silenced her. It occured to the girl as she watched the flicker of emotion behind his eyes that Riku had never spoken his own story aloud. He couldn't have, or the feeling emanating from his voice would not have been so strong. Even the mountain began to listen. Snow stopped whistling about, and moved to hang suspended in the very air they breathed for fear that even the lightest swoosh of a snowflake's edge would break his train of thought. The banks of rolling white smoothed before them in a silent serenity, and even the crunching of packing ice beneath their boots evaporated into a gentle humming whisper. She felt sorrow when he told of Destiny Islands, and how it was virtually destroyed by his own foolish mistake. Her heart reached out for him when he accounted the story of Maleficient, and Ansem's Heartless who, apparently, had borrowed another man's name. That led into his attempt at rescuing Kairi, and when he spoke of losing his body to the darkness within his heart, she could not help but clench her hands with worry.

She allowed herself a few breaths to cut through the silence when he spoke of overcoming his darkness to save Kairi only to loose her courage when he told of being locked on the other side of the door with the King. Berri noticed he had become shy, and perhaps even a little embarrassed when the silver-haired boy continued on, speaking of the King's encouragement, and how he had left him in order to look after Sora. The girl could not help offering him an encouraging smile after that. It was exactly as she had predicted; passionate to a fault, but it was a tragic flaw that made him all the more worthwhile. He went right on explaining up until his fight with the nobody called Roxas, and simply stated that the boy had rejoined Sora, and that was who the Organization had been calling out to--not his spikey haired friend.

Berri nodded, drinking in her new surroundings. Over the course of their walk they had descended a great deal, but there was still a layer of slushy snow lying about them. The great white peaks above looked almost menacing, but she brushed the notion away by asking, "What happened to Kairi?"

"She's safe. Back at Destiny Islands."

"Oh," her solemn tone drifted away, and the girl smiled, turning to face him. "You went through a lot to take care of your friends. I'm glad I met someone like you."

She thought herself insane, but after closer inspection, the girl confirmed his cheeks had just turned..pink? Riku cleared his throat with a rather rough cough, and looked away, "So what's your story, then?"

"Well..I'm afraid it's not really as interesting as yours, but here it goes." Berri took a deep breath, leaning her back against an exposed section of brown stone. It was still cold, and she decided to use the chill to freeze her nerves. She had never spoken aloud the tragedies riddling her recent years of life, but Riku was different. She could talk to him. "I lived with my mom, Taylor, and my older brother James. Well..James wasn't actually my brother, he was my cousin, but I had always called him brother..so he never corrected me. I'd never met my dad, and nobody talked about him, so I just let it go. My brother was a lot older than me, and so he had to go away to school. I was sad he left, and a girl living down the street noticed. Her name is Zera, but everyone calls her "Zee." She's the one I was going to see at the festival. Anyways; I met her when I was seven/eightish, and we became friends. We did _everything_ together, and we were always there when we needed each other, but the house I was living in cost a lot of money and it was hard for us to pay the bills. When I turned sixteen my mother sold it, and we had to move three towns over. I got angry. James came over to help us unpack, and I was in a bad mood, and when my mom tried to talk to me about it I snapped at her. I dropped my things right there on the floor and walked away. She must have thought I would come back before dark, but I kept going. I walked myself all the way to Zee's house, even though it took me almost all night. She let me inside and after a few hours of talking she convinced me to call my mom and tell her where I was.."

She had stopped speaking. The words felt heavy on her tongue; each syllable a boiling vat of mercury. The more she spoke, the more it burned, and the more her brain fizzled. Riku had moved closer, and Berri took comfort in the fact that he had trusted her with his own words. She sighed, feeling the cold air rush through her lungs. The near electric charge it gave her made speaking possible again.

"The last thing I said before I dropped my things was that I wished I'd gone to live with my Dad, whoever he was, instead of her. I don't even remember what we had argued about..but I called her, and told her where I was. She wasn't even angry..and she didn't say anything about my temper. Actually she sounded glad to know where I'd gone, and told me that she and James were on their way. They got on the bus and it dropped them off at the town square, and from there they had to walk on foot. I was sitting with Zee, and her neighbor Krysta had come over with hot chocolate for us. My mom and James never showed up. Some idiot was going down the road in a cart pulled by a horse that he didn't know how to control. He ran them right over..mom hit her head, and James tried to help. The horse kicked him, and then trampled right over him. I moved in with Krysta, right next to Zee, where I'd wanted to be in the first place, but I lost my family in the process. For the next year fires started breaking out over the valley. We never could figure out why, but I guess it was those red heartless."

The look on his face was horror; absolute horror, and perhaps even a hint of sympathy. She did not let him speak, though. There was something Berri had to say, even if you might not want to hear it.

"I never got the chance to say I was sorry, Riku. They were gone, forever. They _are_ gone forever. So, I can't understand," her eyes blurred, and the back of her throat began to sting with dry salt and the promise of heaving sobs, but the girl swallowed them down, determined to finish, "I can't understand why, when he's right there, you won't tell him you're okay. I don't know how many opportunities you've had, but I know for a fact Sora has already forgiven you; what if something happens, Riku? What if you lose him forever too? I know you're having a difficult time trying to forgive yourself, but if you stay there without taking a chance you might lose it! I know it's hard, but I found out that just because bad things happen, it doesn't mean you should never let yourself live again..I could have bolted out of that house when you fell through the portal--hell, you even told me to run--but I was afraid that if I didn't stay I would just be feeding that little voice at the back of my mind that still to this day _insists_ I'm nothing more than a burden to everyone. Zee made me promise never to think like that again--literally sat on top of me until I agreed, and I've never owed her more in my entire life. I wanted to help you, and I still do; even if I mess up I know it's better than never trying," the girl stepped closer, giving a short, apologetic stare, "The only way your friends will ever question whether you care about them or not is if you don't try, Riku..Everything you told me, everything you did, regardless of whether or not there was a better way to do it _proves_ that you cared. All I have to show is a bad temper's consequences and an opportunity to say "I love you" that I didn't take. I know you think it's easy for me, but it's not, and I'm sure it isn't easy for Sora either. We're no different from you, except in the fact that you aren't afraid to admit you have trouble..all you need to do now is stop being afraid of asking for help, because I can promise you every one of your friends will be more than willing to--"

Her eyes narrowed again, struggling to focus. In the midst of her tyrade she had noticed a figure, but until that very moment, it's true shape had not been made clear. She could see out past them on a lower level of the mountain a group of strangers--no. They weren't strangers. It was Sora, Donald, Goofy. The trio looked spent; tired, and utterly lacking in any sense of morale. There was a woman with short, cropped black hair, and someone else she did not recognize. They were huge, with a definite brick-wall build, and a furry hodded outfit. The man seemed gruff, and carried a sword with a wavy blade; his shiny mustache was pointed, beady eyes narrowed like a hawk's. As soon as the observation of hawk eyes was made, a real hawk perched itself upon his outstretched and muscled arm. Then she saw the heartless; row upon row of yellow, fishlike creatures with razor jaws, and her hand shot out to grip Riku's arm.

"Berri..?"

"It's Sora--look!"


	11. Chapter 11

**--Chapter Eleven: Promise Me Something--**

She found herself bouncing up and down excitedly, all sadness and desperation lost from her voice. the girl turned shining green eyes in Riku's direction and pointed at his brown-haired friend enthusiastically.

"How cool is that?! He's right there, all you have to do is--"

Riku's gloved hand clamped itself over her mouth, and he had pulled her down into a crouching position. She thought it rather ridiculous trying to hide against _white_ snow when he was obviously wearing all _black_ clothes, but somehow the boy pulled it off. He sighed, shooting an annoyed glare at her, and she blinked, "Berri, how many times do I have to explain this to you? He won't know it's me. I don't look like myself to everyone else, remember?"

When she felt his hand slowly moving away, Berri yawned, stretching her jaw, and took a moment to ponder his predicament. "And he would be suspicious if he saw the person you really _do_ look like trying to help..right?"

"Right. The less he knows right now, the safer he'll be."

The girl pursed her lips, pouting as usual. "That's so unfair."

"I never said it was fair."

"Well can't you just leave him a sign, or something? A letter? Some message scratched in the snow? We could go down to the city over there and have somebody pass on the message..I mean, he's bound to go down there eventually, so--"

And then there was another interruption. The teen found herself being thrown forward headlong into the snow, which from that angle, was not so magical. Berri pushed herself up onto her hands in a sort of push-up position, and spat out the ice. Just as Riku was steadying himself and preparing to go help her, Sora's voice cut through the blizzard surrounding the mountain.

"Heyy, Berri! Be careful, more are coming!!"

He did not ask why she was there, nor where she had gone before, and for a moment the girl was thankful. Riku shrank back against the clifface as if someone had tasered him, but her frustration with his lack of common sense had been evaporated. He was not trying to be emo or angsty; he just..didn't know how to forgive himself. It made no sense for her to be angry with him for never being taught.

she nodded, raven-black hair swaying vigorously in the breeze that was kicking up, "Okay! You be careful too!"

Her voice was washed away, swirling in a catastrophic cyclone of ice flakes and biting cold. It had been so peaceful before, but now Berri could see the danger of being lost in snow for too long; it would literally bury you alive..that is, if you did not freeze first. The goofy boy just grinned, and headed off with his two companions to strike down more of the yellow heartless. Riku yanked Berri back as soon as Sora was not watching.

"Are you okay?" he commanded, rather than actually asking.

"Ah..yes? What was that shaking thi--"

"A heartless. A big one. Stay low so it doesn't see you. I am going to go give Sora a head's up, it looks like it's circling around."

Berri blinked, not quite sure her ears had been tuned right. "Woah, wait a second," she grabbed his sleeve as he was about to stand, "You're giving Sora a heads up? I thought you didn't want--"

"I know. He won't see me, but if he hasn't gotten any stupider he should be able to figure out it's me."

The girl blinked again, and them smiled, releasing her grip on his sleeves. She nodded, backing away and sitting up against the only exposed section of brown stone she could find to keep herself less visible from whatever gianormous heartless her silver-haired friend had spoken of. Without another word, Riku was gone.

The snow began to thicken, and as each irradescent layer built upon the last, she felt a feeling of emptiness settle over her. The vast expanse of white, the epitomy of shimmering blankness, had cast a sort of solemn spell over the girl. Sunlight trickled across the icy surface like water, though it did not bounce and play since the waves of snow never once deterred from their stationary plots. Instead the sunlight was left to dwindle, and in a final spray of glittering jest, it died. Wave upon wave of this bright light passed in front of her feet, around her arms, and every so often over the falling snow before her eyes, but it did nothing to ease the unsettled feeling her gut had begun to produce. As wind whipped at her hair, threatening to tug the beautiful sash from atop her head, Berri crouched low, nearly pressing her body against the freezing ground. She crawled forward, keeping herself small so that the strong winds of the mountain's atmosphere would not throw her off course--or worse, over the edge of a cliff.

Her eyes narrowed so severely that the thick, black lashes flaming her hues laced together, blocking little flecks of snowflakes here and there. she peered cautiously over the edge of the cliff until her eyes rested on Riku. He was dressed in black, as usual, but his hood had been pulled far over his head so that any face beneath was completely obscured. At first he appeared to be standing stoicly still, as if something were wrong, but once her eyes trailed in the direction he was facing she met Sora. Donald and Goofy were gone; possibly further down the mountain in search of the escaping heartless, or even wondering why Sora was not with them. Berri felt a stab of pain, realizing what guilt she must have put him through. All those things she had said..about time being short. They were unfair, and she would have to apologize.

The silver-haired boy straightened his shoulders, and very smoothly extended his hand, palm facing upward as if he were waiting for Sora to take it. Sora took a step forward, curious, but not vicious. And then Riku did something she could not even begin to comprehend. He summoned his weapon--which she now knew was not the same as Sora's, meaning it was not a keyblade, though Riku had claimed to have the ability to weild one on his own--and move into a fighting stance. She wanted to gasp, wanted to scream, and tell them both to stop, but all of the panic bubbling inside her was instantly silenced by a calm, collected voice she had long since forgotten existed. It whispered soothing melodies, and drowned out the storm of emotion within her heart using the peaceful lyrics and tunes she had so often heard playing on her radio in the mornings. Everthing was going to be just fine. How did she know that? The calming sensation of her own conscience drifted peacefully through the girl's body, and with a slight hint of an epiphany she realized it was the same calm curtain of drowsy intuition that had guided her through pulling Riku from the darkness--the same intuitionthat had caused all of the black, oozing energy to disappear. _Keep watching_, the voice urged, _Trust him._

As he had promised, Riku's attire made it virtually impossible for Sora to recognize him by looks alone---not that he would have seen Riku anyway. All the brown-haired hero would have seen was the image of a foe; someone Riku had called 'Xehonart's Heartless' who, apparently, was the only heartless he knew of to keep a humanoid form. The thought made her shiver. Even with her sudden aquiring of a calm sensation the more she stared, the more questions popped into her head. Only when she looked closely did she realize the lack of a blazing passion. Riku was fighting, yes, but the ferocity she had witnessed when the boy went against Sai'x had all but vanished. The girl leaned closer towards the edge of the cliff, winds howling through her ears so that even the clanging of one weapon against the other was finally drowned out. Berri squinted her eyes again, cold seeping into every exposed pore of her body. Yes, she was certain. Riku was not aiming for fatal blows. Sora's words drifted back through her memories to the forefront of her mind, and the girl smiled. Riku was giving him a chance to prove how strong he had gotten in the hopes it would jog his memory, or at least let his friend know he was alright.

"What a ham," she smiled, delicately scooting her way back from the edge.

The snow was still gloriously beautiful, but the danger of being burried was moved to the girl's immediate thoughts. She crouched back against the first solid object her shoes hit, and immediately felt a terrified, burning scream build at the base of her heart. The stone she'd backed against was warm, soft, and leathery. Berri jumped to her feet, and spun around to face the stranger that..was not there. She felt the panic building, expanding with an almost unbearable pressure, but no matter how hard she looked, there was not a single hint of a person there. Her leg slid back automatically, and met nothing but air. She flailed her arms out, throwing her wait forward to avoid plummeting off the edge of the mountain. She felt herself become cold, and realized with a chattering sigh that her body had been successfully moved forward and away from the edge. Berri let herself lie there, gripping the icy earth with both hands in a desperate attempt to remain calm. Very slowly the fear ebbed away, but the peculiar tingling at the base of her spine would not falter. Something was there, she knew it, but what..?

In a bursting flare of darkness Riku appeared, dropping to his knees next to her. The panic and confusion rolling off of his person was more consuming than her own, and so she forced herself up onto her elbows to grab his shoulder firmly, but comfortingly.

"Berri! What the hell happ--"

"I'm okay, I'm okay! Calm down, I just..I lost my balance is all. I'm really sorry, Riku, I didn't mean to scare you."

He became dreadfully silent, releasing his grip on the hilt of his sword so that it crunched softly into the depleting blizzard. She stared, suspiciously worried that he was angry until the color in his chin began to drain. Berri watched as his hands started to shake, and a growing crimson light spread through the falling particles of ice in the air. His eyelids were heavy, and the girl sat up on her knees. Before she had time to shake him her eyes travelled behind the boy to a black cloaked figure. A line of energy, sizzling evil and darkness, but red in color was connecting their fingers and Riku's back. The orb of light grew in size, threatening to swallow him completely, and she watched with mild horror as the silver-haired boy became more and more unresponsive. Her panic vanished, and was replaced by a single thought: sword.

She released her hold on Riku far too easily and stood, bolting through the snow towards the source of the fatal magic. The person remained unconcerned, and doubled the force behind whatever spell was inflicting Riku. The snow stilled, falling in a suspended state as her senses quickened, drowning out the rest of the world, and the sudden yelp of pain that had errupted behind her. Her hands became warm, and every sensation of cold began to melt away. Berri's hands became fists, and between her softly padded palms and fingertips, the air became a solid object; an obstruction that remained nameless. Even before she felt its weight, the girl knew its purpose, and as she approached the cloaked figure they flinched, breaking the string of red energy. She did not give them time to flee. Berri swung the object at them so that they let out an obviously masculine cry of pain before doubling over, both arms secured tightly over the abdomen. She found herself panting, but preparing to dish out more pain when the stranger snapped, and stumbled backwared into a portal of darkness. The mountain had become still, and even as she stepped forward for pursuit, Riku's muffled voice travelled to her ears, breaking the spell of agression that had consumed her. She froze, meshing the two conflicting halves of her mind to think as one, and spun about to resume her position next to the silver-haired boy.

Berri dropped to her knees, much as he had done before. She dropped the object from her hands and leaned forward towards his face. Riku was pale, far too pale to be healthy, and barely supporting himself on his forearms. It seemed the boy could not even manage getting to his elbows any more. She flailed around her mind uselessly for something to say, something to do to make the pain go away, but no such help came. He was breathing hard, and Berri frowned, remembering the state he had been when he first arrived in her home town. Riku had never allowed himself to recover, and now he was weak again. She tapped his shoulder, and he did not respond, nor did he even seem to remember the girl was present. She scooted over on her knees, feeling the cold wet ice melt through her pants. Berri scooped him up in her arms, and propped Riku up so that the top of his head was resting under her chin and wrapped her arms around his in a sort of hug to keep him warm. Little by little she felt the cold in his cloak melt away, but it was not fast enough for her to be satisfied. Berri frowned, hugging him tighter.

"I'm sorry.."

She was not surprised when he did not answer. In fact, Berri was certain he did not have the ability to speak, so when Riku stirred, his gloved hand closing around her wrist, she had to put extra effort into keeping still so she would not jostle him. The boy tugged on her arm until the girl leaned down, keeping her ear close.

"It's coming back," Riku breathed, his voice strained as though he were still in pain, "You need to go down to the city, and tell the people to clear off the streets. Sora should be down there soon to take care of the problem, but you need to make sure everyone is out of the way."

"Wha? Riku, I can't just leave you here, you can barely move."

"Just go. I'll be fine, now help me get this off," his scratchy words deteriorated in volume as he began trying to shirk off the black cloak.

She violently shook her head, black spikes waving like feathery branches in a springy tree. Berri hugged him tighter, leaning forward so her back shielded him from most of the wind, "You'll freeze!"

"Berri.."

"No."

"Berri, you have to trust me."

"No."

"Berri--come on. I will be fine, you won't be gone long," she flinched when he coughed a deep, hollow sound, "Now hurry up, and put on the cloak."

She felt her bottom lip tremble, but swallowed hard on the salty, burning sensation creeping up the back of her throat and behind her eyes. Berri quickly helped Riku out of the cloak and secured it around her own, much smaller frame. Hopefully nobody would notice the difference if she was quick. The warmth she felt was so instantaneous that her limbs slowed, basking in the comfort. In her heart, though, there was a pang of guilt at knowing she was leaving him in what appeared to be a short-sleeved vest and pants. Berri gently slid Riku back against the stone clifface, and removed her hair's sash before passing it to him. It was not much, but considering it was long, he managed to use it as a makeshift scarf. As a final thought she carefully removed Krysta's shawl from her waist and draped it over her friend's shoulders and arms before kneeling next to him one more time.

"Are you sure you will be okay?"

Riku nodded, and vainly attempted to remove the gloves from his still shaking hands. She sighed, and helped him before slipping the too large leather articles over her own slender fingers. He waggled a finger towards her hood, and Berri nodded, pulling it up over her head until he signaled that her face was completely shadowed. Riku used some hidden reserve of strength to open a corridor of darkness for her, though she wished he had not, and sighed, breathing shallow, "I will be okay, just hurry back."

"I will," Berri frowned, wrapping her arms around his shoulders one more time for a last burst of warmth.

"And Berri," he added, and she could sense he was struggling to speak. The girl wanted to stop him, but knew it would not be worth an argument. Riku was too stubborn, "Promise me something."

"What?"

"If he comes back, you need to run."

She did not anser him. The words would not come. Surely he knew, though. Berri considered the idea that he might not truly understand her personality, but it was a complete waste of time trying to lie to herself. He knew she would not run, he understood perfectly well that she would not leave him alone. Instead of saying no, and instead of apologizing for being unable to promise him anything, the girl sighed, gave him one more squeeze, and planted a quick kiss on Riku's cheek. Before he spoke, or even raised an eyebrow in surprise, the girl was gone. She slipped noiselessly through the portal, and travelled down the corridor of darkness towards the second opening that would lead to her destination. Her feet carried her quickly, far too quickly for the majesty and peculiar wonder she had witnessed during her first trip through the strange portal to be registered. All her mind knew was that Riku was freezing, probably to his death, and that she had just kissed a boy on the cheek. Interesting day to say the least. Her lips were tingling, and while she tried to ignore the after-nervous butterflies flitting about in her stomach, Berri felt her skin turning red. What if he was angry?

Her process of contemplation came to a stop when the portal before her opened up. She stepped through, remembering to carry herself with confidence, as Riku always did. Berri strode down across a stone courtyard as if she had lived there her entire life when she really wanted nothing more than a few moments to explore the strange land. Two guards had poised themselves at the entrance, and she felt her iron will beginning to bend. No, she told herself, think like Riku. They barred her path, and while Berri took a pause in her stride, she did not come to a submissive halt. Instead her shoulders were level, held slightly back for good posture, and with a commanding voice she stuck out her chin, face still concealed in shadow.

"Stand aside, _now,_" she would have grinned at the strength behind her voice had they not seemed offended, "I am here to speak to your leader about a matter of..national security."

The pause had been weak, and she knew it, but they seemed to be considering her words. As if on cue, the violent screaming of a beast far above in the mountains echoed over the rooftops nearby. Berri wanted to shrink, to hide away behind Riku, but she knew it was impossible. He needed her this time. The girl allowed herself only one glance backward to see it was a rather peculiar creature, and with a jolt, she realized it was a heartless. Trying her best to be nonchalant, Berri turned back to face the two guards, who were obviously concerned.

"I suggest you let me pass."

Without so much as another protest they scrambled, one dropping his shield as they hurried out of her way. The girl stepped up, and with a slight amount of difficulty, forced the door open. She'd had to push hard to get through, but it only made her seem more determined rather than weak. Berri was thankful doors were not transparent. The teen stormed across the room, noting that she was treading across red carpet that led directly to a rather ornate, but simply colored throne. The man upon it was old, and reminded her vaguely of royalty. A military man charged after her, hand reaching for his sword's hilt. Berri almost panicked, but her eyes narrowed just in time. He was also worried, and that gave her the advantage. As the man drew his sword, red cape billowing behind him, all the girl had to do was step off to the side and turn her body. As predicted he stumbled past her, crashing to the ground. The girl stepped up to the throne, leaving a decent six or so paces between her, and the curious glance of the royal old man.

"There is a dangerous creature approaching your city. Clear everyone off the streets and back in to their homes immediately."

The sound of her feminine voice had him taken aback, but clearly the old man was used to such..interesting circumstances. The attacking military stranger was on his feet again, and had rounded on her. One raised finger from the long bearded fellow forced the man in the red cape to stop. "General Shang," his voice rang with authority, "See to it that all citizens are brought to safety."

"But Emporer, we cannot just--"

"Do it now. I know the truth when I hear it."

So he was royalty. Berri turned, and strode away without so much as a thank you. She was not trying to be rude, but the girl feared that any more feminine influence might give away the fact that she was a woman. There were no other women present, and being surrounded by men with weapons made her uncomfortable. The girl could still hear General Shang scrambling around and belting orders as she stepped delicately through the still open portal of darkness. It dissolved behind her, and she ran the rest of the way across the corridor to get back to Riku. Just before stepping through, Berri stopped, arms outstretched to keep her balance. The nasty nervous feeling in her gut had resurfaced. She was afraid of what he would say..what he would think, and regretted kissing him more than anything she had ever done in her life. No. That was not true. The girl shook her head, pulling down the hood so it was not covering her face any more. She had wanted to do it, and she had. There was no reason to be regretting something when he had not tried to kill her for it, right? Berri nodded with assertion, and slipped carefully through the remaining portal, listening as it fizzled away behind her.

Riku's state chilled her soul to its very core. His fingertips were turning blue, and somehow the boy had managed to grab both his weapon, and the object she had dropped. Whatever it was, it was an odd combination of blues greens, and even purple. Her eyes ignored it and she ran over, tearing the cloak away from her shoulders in the process. Berri draped it over Riku as she settled herself next to him, one arm pressed against the stone as she sat on her knees, facing the boy. He was shivering violently, lips turning blue. Berri began rubbing his arms while keeping them snuggly beneath the cloak. She wanted circulation, and that was the fastest way according to Zee. It took five agonizing minutes for his tremors to even calm down, and Berri took that opportunity to wrap her arms around him again, ignoring any protests he would have made were he able to speak. The boy still looked pitifully weak, out of energy, and now frozen.

"I never should have left."

Riku shook his head, teeth clacking together, and Berri knew he was trying to argue. She opened her mouth to silence him, but the next few seconds left her dazed. Instead of scolding her girlish emotions, or insisting that he had been right, her silver-haired friend gave a pointed stare. His aquamarine eyes were locked on hers even though his lids were heavy, and muscles limp, the intensity in the look caught her attention. He had much to say, but all his lips could form was the word, "Princess."


	12. Chapter 12

-**Chapter Twelve: Epiphany-**

She could feel confusion oozing out of her pores. Either he was delerious, or Riku was not finished with his sentence. For his sake, though, the girl hoped he was not trying to use a pet name. She may have been a hopeless romantic, but it was embarrassing when someone tried to make up nicknames.

Berri waved away the words he was still trying to form and set her face in a stern, motherly look, "We can't stay here. You need to be moved someplace warmer."

After a minute that felt like days he nodded, pointing one finger off into the abyss to their right. A bubbling lump of darkness began to materialize. It was mishapen, and slower to rise than the others had been, but it did finally reach full size. Riku grunted, trying to stand himself up while using the stone cliff behind him as leverage, but Berri would have none of it. She threw the cloak over her shoulder and tucked herself up against his side, both arms wrapped around the boy's torso to keep him upright. He refused to release the two weapons, and as she helped him limp through the portal, they left similar gashed trails in the fresh, powdery snow. Never in a million years would she have imagined her first encounter with a wintry wonderland to end in desperation..but then, never in a million years would she have guessed there were other worlds. Their progress was slow, but even before she stepped through the final portal at the end of the corridor Berri could feel swathes of warm air blanketing her toes through the boots upon her feet. It was a good place for him to recover from the biting cold; well, a good place for both of them to recover.

They stepped out of the portal, and shock rippled through her. Her clothes had changed, and, so had Riku's attire. She was wearing black high-heeled lace-up boots with dark dark denim bell-bottom jeans. Over that was a purple skirt fluffed out like a ballerina's tutu with a lacy black spiderweb pattern splattered delicately across the soft, fleece-like fabric. Her top was a corset of a similar design set neatly over a simple black long-sleeved shirt of smooth, comfortable fabric. Sitting just atop her sash was a small, fist-sized witche's hat black in color with a purple ribbon around the rim. She could not see it herself, but just below her cheeks were two black tear-drop marks, almost tattoos. Berri began counting backward, but several times in a row she arrived at the conclusion that it was impossible for her to have been away from home long enough for halloween to arrive..and anyway, that did not explain how she had changed her clothes without actually changing her clothes.

Riku's attire had changed as well. He was black, navy blue, and a few shades of forest green. If she had to compare his new outfit to anything it would have been a vampire complete with long, fanning wings that dragged along the ground with his current slouching position. The city around them was dark as well, and seemed to have been fashioned with one word in mind: Halloween. Berri felt a small chuckle rise in her friend's throat at the awed look on her face, but instead of the beautiful sound she had been expecting to hear, he coughed, nearly throwing both of them forward and off balance. Despite the odd circumstances, and more than peculiar surroundings, she found they had installed a town square and fountain with a wide rim where one could sit and rest. Berri led Riku there, and prompted him to sit before draping his black cloak around his shoulders. The girl frowned, finally turning to look at the objects he carried. One was his weapon, the same he had used against Sai'x, and again when facing Sora. The other she had never set eyes on before, but it pulsed with familiarity.

It was an object almost four feet in length. It bowed into a tear-drop shape at one end that was a brilliant sparkling shade of cerulean blue. The blue faded softly into an electric shade of green down a long, cyllindrical shaft. Wrapping around the shaft from what she assumed ws the tear-drop shaped hilt of the weapon were tendrils of purple that curled, twisted, and laced against each other in many knotted, but subtly elegant patterns until all of the colers converged on one point in the shape of a flower bud. It was not quite ready to bloom, but had been turned so that it extended several inches to the right of the shaft. It was green at the bottom, fading to blue, then purple, and eventually white at the very tips of the gently curling petals of what looked like a tulip bud. At first she thought it was an L-shaped sword, but the next comparison came in the form of the word "key." Her eyes shot wide open, and Berri shook her head, rattling the thoughts currently flying through her brain. It couldn't have been a keyblade...and yet there it was, perfectly obvious in shape and size like Sora's, but with a different design.

Riku's voice, though it was still laced with cold, cut violently through her silent contemplation. "It's yours. The keyblade."

"Huh? No way, I thought only a few people were allowed to use a keyblade..Plus, I've never seen it before, so how can it be mine?"

He coughed, wheezing again, and Berri moved closer to sit down along the fountain edge with him. "Your heart called it to you when," Riku paused, choosing the words carefully. "when you went to save me."

"Oh. I told it to stop making those long-distance calls without asking..Lord knows I need time to prepare _this_ hair for company."

The silver-haired boy managed to laugh his usual, rare but sweet echoing sound. Berri smiled in response. Color was beginning to flood back into his cheeks, and the girl noted with mild satisfaction that Riku's shivering had all but faded away. He shook his head weakly, and she set a hand on his shoulder.

"Berri, that's not all. I think I've finally figured you out."

The girl blinked, shrinking back briefly from the startling strength that had entered his aquamarine eyes. His body was still drained of energy, and while she could see that, his mind seemed to be functioning much better. "Welll I..guess you might have? I didn't realize you were trying to figure me out in the first place; I guess I could have given you a few hints if you'd said someth--"

Riku had covered her mouth with his hand, and she realized his gloves were still on her own. Oops. "Not you as a person; you made that part easy. I meant I think I know why you can disperse darkness. I think I know why you are allowed to weild a keyblade; and I think I know why your heart is so full of light."

Her brows knit together, and Berri's emerald green eyes asked the question she was still unable to pose herself due to her mouth being covered. 'what do you mean?'

She felt him pull his hand away and sigh, glancing away as if embarrassed to voice his thoughts. Berri waited to be sure. He knew he could tell her, she had made sure of that. Wind began to circulate lazily through the town square. Now that she had been there for a while the girl knew it was not as warm as she had first percieved; it was just hot in comparison to the snow. She twirled the edges of her unfamiliar skirt between her fingertips, and watched as Riku sighed, new vampiric fangs just barely visible.

"I told you about my friend Kairi, and how she, and several other girls have hearts pure enough to be called Princesses. I know it makes them sound all dainty and stuff, but they're really a lot stronger than most other people are, and I'm almost positive that..well, I think you might be the last one. I think you are a Princess of heart, too, and that's why the heartless went after your world later than everyone else's. When you had that accident, you were upset, and that made the protective barrier each Princess creates weaken enough for the heartless to invade. That would explain why you were able to rescue me without being sucked in to the darkness."

Berri stared blankly, as though she could not understand what language he was speaking. Very slowly the puzzle pieces were connected inside her brain, but somehow the picture they formed did not look right. "That doesn't make sense, though. You can do all that stuff too, right? And you can use a keyblade.."

She silenced herself when he shook his head. "No, that's different. I allowed darkness into my heart to do those things--"

"But Sora didn't."

Her remark seemed to have left him puzzled. Unable to do anything else, Riku nodded. "Right.."

"So, that means that all of us have light in our hearts." Berri shrugged. "It's simple."

"Well, yeah, most--"

"All of us. Not most of us, all of us." The girl held up a finger matter-of-factly and closed her eyes, waiting expectantly for him to agree.

Riku sighed, exasperated. "Fine. All of us do have some light in our hearts, but a Princess, like you, has more than usual. Understand?"

"I appreciate that you think I'm special--really, Riku, I promise I do--but I think you're wrong. I'm just a normal girl. I'm sure once that keyblade thing realizes I'm normal it'll leave."

The smile he gave her was a sad one, laced with irony and hidden understanding. The girl blinked, almost frowning when he took the keyblade and closed her hand around the hilt. "Sorry, B, but if it works the way you do I doubt it will give up that easily."

Berri sighed, quite obviously irritated, and then gasped. "Oh! Riku, I forgot; Sora saw me back there on the mountain. Shouldn't we go find him so I can at least let him know he's not going crazy? I mean, seing both of us randomly after you've been gone for so long, and then when he thinks I just disappeared into thin air...it can't be good for the guy."

She grinned when he gave a loud, and familiar hearty laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I will have to drop you off, though. I promised myself I would check on Kairi, and a certain friend of mine said it's important to keep the promises we make to ourselfs."

Her pink cheeks turned red, and the girl swore she could feel little birds singing praises in the back of her mind. He had called her his friend right to her face, but even that was not startling. The way he had said friend--the tone that implied more--was enough to make her sing out loud. "Okay. Don't worry, though--I won't say anything about you until you're ready for him to know."

"Thanks, Berri," she nodded professionally, but her rational thinking ceased after the silver-haired boy leaned over, and softly pressed his lips to her cheek.

_Well, hell,_ she thought._ I think I just died and went to heaven._


	13. Chapter 13

**--Chapter Thirteen: Rain on my Parade--**

**[Hey guys, it's H. Requiem here. Do me a favor and stop by my fanfiction profile to answer the question/poll I have posted there. 3 It will mean a lot to me, and benefit you as well. =) ]**

Riku had cleared his throat, and was pretending to absent-mindedly stare at the stars sparkling throughout the eerily darkened sky, but she knew better. He was stealing glances at her from the corner of his eyes, watching, waiting to see if she was angry or upset. She most definitely wasn't.

The plan they had made seemed solid, but more pressing questions circulated themselves through her brain. None of them were questions she wanted to ask. So instead, Berri resorted to the root of all evil: small talk.

"Riku?"

He half turned, happy to have a distraction. "Hm?"

"Where are we?"

"Oh," he gave a short, almost lop-sided grin, "I forget you haven't been travelling very long. It's Halloween Town.."

Berri's face lit up with a grin as she glanced oncd more around the cartoony macabre surroundings. "That makes a lot of sense, but," She poked the hat atop her head, "I never would have thought of myself as a witch."

Her silver-haired friend frowned, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. Berri felt her heart catch in her throat as she sat dangerously still, snuggled close into his side. "You aren't a witch, and you never will be."

"Are you sure you'll be okay? I mean, you still seem a bit out of it.."

The girl waited patiently for his reply, but it never came. Riku tensed, every muscle in his body ready for action. He very quickly took her arm and dragged her to her feet before he himself stumbled and Berri caught him. "You need to hide; just for a minute or two."

"Wha--Riku?"

"Go, now!"

Berri was hesitant to leave, but the hint of fear in his voice was enough to make her move. Riku never sounded afraid, and just that fact itself had driven fear like a stake through her own heart. She dove behind a low wall made of stones that reminded her far too much of home's cobbled walkways and roads just as the sucking vacuum sound that always accompanied a portal of darkness errupted throughout the silent square. Her hair shifted in a gentle breeze that once would have seemed comforting instead of eerie as the sound of Organization XII's signature black boots clicked onto the stones around the fountain where she had left Riku.

A quick peek over the top of the wall left her cursing her own lack of forethought. Her keyblade--as strange as it felt to think of it has belonging to her--was still leaning up against the fountain. Berri silently pleaded with the weapon, and just as she began to feel like an idiot, the surface of the object shimmered. She threw a hand over her mouth to stifle the gasp that threatened to errupt as she felt the cool metal of the keyblade within her grasp. The girl dragged it over and set it snugly up against the wall before ducking down. The footsteps came to a stop, and she heard Riku's nonchalant sigh. How did he act so calm? Only moments before he had been panicking..

The cloaked person felt oddly familiar, but Berri confirmed their energy was peculiar all the same. It was entirely possible she had not formally met them and had only passed by briefly during her stay in the cell.

Regardless of where she had encountered the man's aura--or at least, she thought it was a man's--it was undeniably obvious that they felt less deadly than her last two encounters with the shrouded pests. Based on what she could hear through their muffled conversations, he carried himself confidently in tone and gesture, for there was a light tint of frustration to Riku's voice. The girl pressed her ear against a crevace in the stone wall and urged all of her brain power into catching the falling syllables that were barely beyond her reach. Words began to form in her minds eye as voices were raised, but nothing prepared her for the subject of the conversation. The first person to speak was Riku, she could tell that much, but the ferocity in his voice made her question whether or not he needed her help.

"Just shut up!"

There was silence before the stranger spoke again, their malicious sneer almost visible in the way their poisonous letters were formed, "You know it's true, Riku."

"I said shut up!" Berri heard the shifting of feet, and could only assume her silver-haired friend had tried to move. Butterflies errupted in the depths of her stomach as a scene she could not see began to pan out inside her imagination. He was still weak, what if he stumbled? Surely they would take advantage of weakness?

"You can save her as many times as you'd like--let her hypnotize you into believing there is good left in your heart," a chuckle broke the sentence, allowing for a pause that sent cold to the marrow of her bones, "but no matter how hard you try, you will fail to keep her. There cannot be two princesses in one world for very long. You will have to choose--Keep Analise, or Kairi."

The now familiar twang of a weapon being summoned strummed against her eardrums, and echoed about the many gothic-style buildings surrounding the square. She knew from the timing it must have been Riku's. A swooshing vacuum of winded tones also caught her attention as a portal was summoned beyond the fountain, opposite of where she was hiding. Had she not been straining to listen, Riku's voice would have dropped too far in volume for her to even suspect an answer being spoken, "I said shut up.."

It was a weak, panicked, and broken sound. The organization member had seen that too, and leapt on the opportunity to rip freshly drawn wounds open further by adding, "Either way, someone will hate you. Perhaps I should just tell Kairi now that you won't be coming for her? I'm sure she won't mind a few more years in our dungeons--"

"What?!"

Berri had gasped, and was immediately forced to throw her fist in her mouth. The grooves of her teeth bore down into the pale skin of her knuckles, and had it not been for the boy's outburst, she would have given herself away.

The stranger continued, forcing sarcastic mock-surprise into their voice, "Oh? I didn't tell you? We had her picked up just yesterday morning. Don't worry yourself, I'll give her the message."

They began casually retreating towards the portal, and even as she stood up, hand outstretched to hold him back from fifteen feet away, Riku dashed forward in pursuit. She wanted to scream, but her lips would not part. It was a trap, she could see that plainly, but there he went. Stinging salty tears blurred her vision as she leapt over the wall. It was too late. Her feet pounded against the cobblestones, and Berri even went as far as running across the fountain's rim rather than around the structure, but before she had ever moved she knew he would be gone. The last flickering tendril of darkness faded between her fingertips, and the keyblade she now called her own slipped from the shaking grasp of her other hand. It clattered against the floor in what felt like slow motion. She swore for a moment she could feel the rings of soundwaves spreading across the floor to tickle gently against her feet, but even their playfull ringing could not tear her eyes from the spot where he had just been. Leon, Sora, and even Riku himself had confirmed there were thirteen members in Organization thirteen. If they were all as strong or intelligent as Sai'x was, she felt certain her silver-haired friend would not be coming back.

The girl's emerald green eyes wavered between focus and a watery grave until she forced them up into the blackening sky. _Just give me a sign,_ she thought to herself. The words seem to twist and writhe, cautiously parting from her now aching heart, but they drifted away all the same. Her silent plea carried off into the distance so quietly that she almost did not notice when it had been answered. At least, not until it tried a second time to catch her attention.

"Analise?"

Her skin reacted first as feeling rushed through her numb limbs once more. A finger twitched, signaling life, but her brain was far slower to respond. The girl's name felt foreign, but recognition slowly lit the fire behind her green eyes, and as she turned, a melancholy smile tugging at her lips, she thanked whatever God had answered her question.

"Hey, Sora."


	14. Chapter 14

**--Chapter Fourteen: Getting Started--**

**[Thank you to everyone who voted. So far it has been a unanimous call for #4: a follow-up story, and I have decided to start working on the new story after I am finished with No Comrade Left Behind, which should be coming to a close soon. I have not yet decided on all the plot points of the next follow-up story, and while it will be Kingdom-Hearts based, I am going to warn you now it will only follow the rules of the KH realm, and will most likely ignore any already existing plotline within the games or manga series. =) enjoy this next chapter 3 ]**

It seemed to take them a moment to fully absorb what they were seeing, but Berri did not care. Her attention was firmly focused on a fourth figure in the group of heroes; and quite frankly it was one that took her off guard. There was a tall, lithe figure made of literally nothing but bone dressed in a black suit with white pinstripes and a bat-shaped bowtie at the collar. It appeared to be male, and virtually towared several feet over Sora and the gang. From her current perspective she guessed the stranger would have towered slightly over Riku as well.

Sora had frowned, and was currently flailing his arms back and forth across the field of her vision. The yellow x-marks across his black fingerless gloves were making rather hypnotic patterns through the still blurred vision her tear-filled eyes were providing. It took a rather substantial amount of effort to glance away from the also frowning skeleton and towards the spikey-haired boy before her. Goofy stepped forward and rested an oddly four-fingered hand on her shoulder.

"Uh, Analise, are you alright?" His floppy ears seemed to sway back and forth as he spoke, and the girl wondered for a moment if they worked better than her own. Regardless of their five senses, she found herself falling farther from hopelessness as their presence finally began to sink in.

They were friends, too, and she had no reason to despair just yet. Berri put forth more effort into her next smile before giving Goofy a hug and a pat on the back, "I'm okay."

This time it was Donald that stepped closer, bright yellow beak turned down into a contemplative frown, "Are you sure? You don't look okay.."

"Yeah, Donald and Goofy are right. You wouldn't be crying if you weren't upset, you know," Sora offered a smile, but wisely kept his distance. He seemed to understand too much attention would push her over the edge into a complete and total crying fest.

The strange Skeleton nodded, reaching forward with a bony hand to flick away one of the tears still lingering against her cheek. His elegant movements surprised her, considering the lack of muscle and tendons. Even without those anatomical aids he seemed to have a certain grace that only vampires had been rumored to posess, and the odd little spectacle made her miss Zee, a die-hard Dracula fan, all over again. Then the rush of anguish swept through her soul.

Not only had she lost Riku, but she had also failed to find any sign of Zee, Krysta, or Daniel. Failed was far too kind a word, for in truth she had forgotten to look altogether. Her heart shriveled, suffocating whatever self respect she had managed to salvage throughout her journey thus far. What kind of a friend let themselves forget the ones closest to them all for the sake of a boy? Certainly not a very Loyal one.

Her mental abuse session ended abruptly as the skeleton gave her a pat on the head and a weak, bony smile. It should have been a frightening spectacle, but the way his engraved features softened warmed her frostbitten spirits, "Now now, no tears in Halloweentown! Let's not spoil the holiday fun!"

Berri hiccuped into a smile, immediately feeling embarrassed. Oh well. It could have been worse--she could have snorted. The girl nodded, tucking a tuft of spikey ravenwing hair behind her ear, "I'll see what I can do, but--what's your name?"

"Oh! How silly of me--I'd forgotten," he gave a lavish bow, sweeping one unaturally long arm across his nearly nonexistent waist, "I am Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, of course. And you must be Analise."

She felt a startled expression settle into her features as he shook her hand and she found herself numbly shaking back. How had he known her name? "Ah, yes. That's me--and it's very nice to meet you Jack." Then she remembered Sora had been calling her, and God only knew for how long. That explained it.

He grinned again, stepping back to stand within the huddled posse of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and now that she knew who he was, The Pumpkin King. Sora grinned, and she could only guess he was glad to see her tears had ceased their silent trickling.

"Hey, Analise," he started, leaning the shimmering keyblade across his shoulders, "You sure you're okay? We're all here to help if you need anything."

The gears inside her brain whirred. What could she say without giving too much away? could she tell him about Riku? No. Thousands of possible answers fell away at that realization, leaving her with a more condensed, but no less heavy burden to lug around. Berri toyed around with a few ideas before the thrashing waves of words inside her mind completely dissolved, leaving only a gentle, calming breeze of thought. the correct phrases and syllables seemed to gently slide in, and as they dropped like rain in a pond to her brain, she let them flow out of her mouth like honey.

"No, I'm fine. I just got a little discouraged, I guess," She shrugged, delicately folding her arms over her chest, "I really am getting nowhere fast.."

It was a beautiful answer because it was not a lie, but she still managed to keep the bond of secrecy she had promised to hold with Riku. Sora seemed satisifed, and a flicker of complete and total understanding washed behind his eyes, "I'm glad we ran into you, then."

He grinned at Donald and Goofy, then finally up at Jack until she found herself staring at something she had never expected to find in a different world; real friends. Sure, Berri knew friends could come from different worlds; hadn't she befriended Riku? Hadn't she taught him the very thing Sora was reteaching her? The tiny spark left inside her heart twitched in defiance, refusing to be blown out. Sora had renewed her hope for a second time, and she was determined to repay him--even if it meant doing something dangerous.

"Sora," they leaned forward in anticipation, and Berri took a deep, cleansing breath, "I have something I need to tell you."

"Is everything okay..?"

"No. I haven't..well, I guess you could say I've been giving you half truths for a while now," her eyes wandered towards the fountain, and she was surprised to find Riku's cloak still lying there. The teen took a step forward, only to have her shoe collide with the keyblade lying at her feet. The clattering sound of metal on stone drew Sora's attention, and he gasped, quickly switching his attention form the weapon to her face and back again.

"Wh--Analise? Is that _yours?_"

"Well," She gave him an awkward, lop-sided grin, "Yes. It's mine, but that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Berri picked up the article of confusion and turned it over in her hands a few times to buy some time for thought organization, "Remember how I sort of disappeared back at Hollow Bastion?"

"Yeah--I actually think it's supposed to be called Radiant Garden, though," he smilled, and the encouraging gesture silenced whatever nervous butterflies had accumulated in her stomach. Even the cynical and sometimes sarcastic Donald Duck seemed to be patiently hanging on her every word.

"Well, I didn't leave on purpose. I was sort of kidnapped?" She watched the three of them jump in shock, eyes wide with questions that she held up a hand to hold back, "Someone from Organization XII--Sai'x, actually. That was his name--came by and knocked me out. I woke up in a cell."

Goofy's jaw had dropped, and before she could stop him he was standing by her again, one hand on her shoulder, "Gawsh, Analise--We're awful sorry. If we'd have known that we wouldn't have left you all alone!"

"Oh, no, it's oka--"

Donald pipped in, stomping his foot, "He's right!"

Sora nodded, the first glare she had ever seen grace his face set firmly into the usually innocent features, "No, Analise, it's not okay. The guys are right--it shouldn't have happened. We were too close by for that to have happened.."

Before he could apologize again she shook her head, spikey tufts of black hair swaying violently like a jello mold, "No, honest, Sora--it was a good thing."

"Huh?" It was Jack's turn to look confused. The skeleton frowned, which looked a bit more like a pout than anything else, "Being abducted is a good thing?"

Sora raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms behind his head, "Yeah, how IS that a good thing?"

"Well," she grinned, "It's a good thing for two reasons. First of all, they aren't very good babysitters, and someone left me unsupervised on the dungeon floor, I guess you could call it. There were definitely stairs, so I'm guessing it's a multi-level building of sorts. Anyways; Do you remember how we promised to keep our eyes open for each other's friends?"

"Yeah," Sora let his arms fall, and Berri watched as every inch of his being held its breath with anticipation.

"When I was stuck in there, somebody wearing a black cloak just like Organization Thirteen came to rescue me. Based on your description, and the fact that I could sense they were not without a heart, I think it might have been your friend Riku."

"What?!" He practically teleported forward, hands grasping her shoulders, "You really think you saw him? When? Was he okay?"

"Yeah, he was okay when I saw him, but that's not all: When I finally got away through one of the portals of darkness I wound up on the mountains--I think that's where I saw you again, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Go on go on!"

"Well, one of the members of Organization Thirteen followed me, and tried to attack, but the same person that had rescued me appeared again to fend them off," Berri felt her voice falter, and all the boys seemed to sense it too.

Sora frowned deeply, and she thought she could feel sorrow and fear rolling out of his pours, "Did Riku get hurt?"

"If it was Riku, you mean--He did get hit with something; I'm not sure what it was. Some red beam that made him paralyzed. That's when I got the keyblade; I went to go help. You know, return the favor of being rescued? He got back up again after that, and brought me here," Berri pointed at the cloak still lying on the fountain," and after he left another organization member tried to follow me. He..well, he called me a princess, and asked if I wanted to meet a fellow princess named Kairi. I remembered you were looking for a Kairi, but when I asked where she was, all he said was 'you'll find out soon enough.' Somebody must have called him back, because he just left me here. I guess I got upset being alone again, because I started crying and then you popped up."

Sora's lip quivered, and his crystal blue eyes were heavy with the pressing threat of tears. "I know that was Riku. I can feel it, and I'm glad you're safe, too."

"Aw, Sora," Goofy started, but Donald beat him to the reassuring pat on the arm this time.

Berri frowned, ruffling her slender fingers through the boy's hair, "Don't cry yet, Sora! I haven't told you the second piece of good news yet, remember?"

He looked up again, and the hope in his eyes made her heart swell so that the girl herself almost started crying. Sora's moods truly were infectious, "What he said about me being a Princess of Heart is relatively true; I can at the very least sense darkness, or light, depending on which is more prominent in a person, or more importantly, a place."

She grinned, watching as though his forehead were a transparent window leading to the gears and pulleys and thought processing machines that made Sora's mind work. Pretty soon a smile broke out on his face as well, and the other three turned, confused, to listen in on, "Which means you can help me find Kairi?"

"Right. And if our hunch is correct, Riku as well. Based on his actions--and his attitude--my best guess is that he is trying to help you behind the scenes by throwing wrenches in the organization's plans."

Donald and Goofy errupted in cheering at the same time as Jack clasped his hands, "Oh, this is wonderful news! I simply must go tell Sally; she'll be happy to hear it."

"Okay, Jack--we'll catch up with you before we head out again," Sora nodded, and Jack Skellington shuffled off to attend to his Pumpkin King duties.

Berri sighed as the three remaining heroes turned to face her, "Okay, so, I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help."

Sora grinned, but held up his finger, "Okay, but just a second. I have something I need to tell you, now. Remember you were telling us about Zee?"

Her eyes shot wide open again. He could not possibly have seen her? After all that time, and she didn't even catch a glimpse..? "Yeah?"

Sora seemed to have sensed the frantic hope in her voice, and Donald and Goofy exchanged a knowing glance. Donald spoke up first, "Well, you said she liked to dance, right?"

"Uh, yeah, 'cause, not long after you disappeared--a-hyuck, actually I guess you were kidnapped, a girl came to Hollow Bast; I mean, Radiant Gardens a'lookin' fer you."

She could have kissed Goofy right then and there. Of course, the girl restrained herself, but it was quite a difficult process. Berri hopped up and down a few times on the heels of her shoes and clasped her hands together before her heart, "Oh, you don't think it was her, do you? Do you?"

Sora folded his arms across his chest and nodded gravely, "We think it was, but before she started asking for you, she was looking for Berri. And, there's somethin' else," he paused, letting his crystalline blue eyes trail away to the trickling and eery green glow of the fountain water, "I don't know how to put it exactly, but.."

All three of them looked at her again, and fear began to bubble in the pit of her stomach. Goofy frowned, kind eyes searching hers for some way to speak without causing a panic, "Well, uh, you see, Analise..she had an awful lot of heartless with her. We think maybe she was controllin' them."

Berri blinked, one eyebrow raising, and then falling right back into place with the other as her brows furrowed, lips pursing into a contemplative pout. "Controlling heartless? I didn't think just anybody could go off and do that.."

"That's just it--they can't," Sora explained, gesturing so often with his hands that were it not for his light Japanese accent, Berri would have thought he was Italian, "You have to be in touch with the darkness in your heart to control any heartless. You aren't....you aren't mad at us, are you?"

"What? No! Of course not," Berri frantically waved her hands, inwardly wondering if the wild gesticulations he made were also contagious. She had been using her hands to talk an awful lot lately, "If that's what you saw, then I believe you..I just can't figure out why you would have seen Zee doing something like that at all.."

Donald tapped one flippery foot on the ground and hummed, "I can't figure it out either. She seemed perfectly nice--and she wasn't attacking anybody, either."

Goofy nodded, "Yeah, come to think of it, Donald, you're right. She was just sending them out to look, not to hurt anybody. Right, Sora?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe she thought they would be able to help her find you two?"

"I guess so," Berri nodded with a slightly more confident grin, "Yeah, that does sound a bit more like her. Zee's not really afraid of doing things her own way..you know, marching to the beat of a different drummer?"

Sora grinned as though all the questions of life had just been resolved. "Right! That's the way to, Analise; just remember, nobody knows your friends better than you--unless of course, you count them knowing themselves. So what's this plan you had?"

"Well, I'm going to sound crazy, but bear with me you three, okay?"

"Don't worry, Analise," Donald grinned, puffing out his chest in an attempt to look macho, "We trust you."

"Yeah, Sora, Donald and I know you've got a good plan comin'. I can feel it," Goofy nodded, scrunching his eyes with the wideness of his following bucktoothed grin.

Her plan had a few potholes in it of course, but the basic structure of the idea was solid. However, it all relied on them getting her back to Hollow Bastion. Now if only she could remember to start calling it by its real name, "First, we need to find a portal, or a corridor of darkness. I know, I know, it's dangerous, but here's the deal--if I can get inside, I'll be able to feel my way back to wherever they were keeping me, and that's bound to be where they're holding Kairi. Sora, Donald, Goofy, you guys will have to hang back here for a while; I'll need you to make sure Leon and the others know Organization Thirteen is up to no good. There was way too much activity going on there when they had me for them to be patiently awaiting your arrival. My best guess is they'll either be coming for you on their own, or they'll be sending out a bunch of Heartless and Nobodies to do the job for them. I think Leon and the gang will take the threat more seriously if you tell them; they know you a lot better."

"Okay, that sounds fair. But what will you be doing?"

"I'll be looking for Kairi, and for Riku, if he's there--chances are he knows everything you do by now, so if I can find him he can help me free Kairi. Then when she's okay, I'll find a way to make sure you can get to Organization Thirteen's stronghold. Then we can see what they're up to, and maybe put a stop to it."

Sora frowned, and glanced at Donald, then Goofy before all three of them gave a silent nod, "Okay. I think I know where we can find a portal; There's this place called Twilight Town, and the old Mansion there feels kinda creepy. We were going to head back in just a bit anyway to make sure everyone there was alright. I don't know why, but--I feel a connection to them. Like we were friends a long time ago or something.."

She blinked, and gave him a curious smile, "Maybe you were."

"Maybe," Sora folded his arms again, pondered the possibility, and let both hands fall to his sides, "I'm going to go tell Jack we're heading out. Just wait here, and then we'll all head off to Twilight Town. 'Kay?"

The girl gave one curt nod. All the nervous feelings that had been shaking her from the inside had dissolved. He was easier to talk to than she'd thought. "Got it. I'll wait right by the fountain."

------- five minutes or so pass ------

"I bet you think you're awfully clever."

She had nearly fallen asleep to the calming rush of air and twittering rustle of the leaves. His ice cold voice was certainly not a welcoming disturbance. Berri leaned away from the fountain's rim and carefully got to her feet. It was such a nusiance, that foggy blanket of dulled senses and numbed reflexes that followed fatigue.

Her spine tingled, and even as Berri spun around she could feel the pulsing aura of darkness. The figure was absolutely swathed in its sickening grasp. She strained to identify it's particular signature, and gasped. There was only one conclusion; It was the cloaked stranger from the mountain, the one that had tried killing Riku, but that was not what had startled her. She realized then why he had been able to sneak up on her. His signature of darkness was so startlingly similar to Riku's own that she had not even noticed it before. Now, though, when he was the only one there, she could feel the more sinister leer his aura contained; one particular trait that Riku could never accomplish.

The girl stepped back, stumbling through her still sleepy blockades, but he made no attempt to stop her or bar her way. The figure simply sighed, droning on in a monotoned voice, "I see. You recognize me. Maybe you are clever."

"What's your name?"

"None of your business, but because I am so nice; Xemnas."

"Xemnas?" Berri frowned. A freaky name, but it was one she definitely would not forget, "Why did you attack Riku like that?"

"Oh? You know his name," it was not a question, but the girl felt the need to nod a yes regardless. He was not the kind of person you wanted to have the last word, even if it meant you had to answer rhetorical questions, "we had some unfinished business. Speaking of, I came here to warn you--"

"You can save the warnings. I don't care if you think he's dangerous."

The chuckle that followed her comment was empty, but no less disturbing. He stepped forward casually, also gesturing with his hand as if to ask her to look around, "You think I care if you choose to hang around vermin? No, I am merely here to warn you against getting too..comfortable with your new companions."

Well, if he was trying to reel her in, she had taken the bait. The girl's eyes narrowed as she 'hmphed,' setting one hand against her hip, "What do you mean?"

"Your little illusion of perfection and paradise will fade away soon enough. It's time you knew."

Berri felt her anger flourish. He was leading her around in circles, but no matter how hard she tried to tell herself the truth, she could not break away. Was that how Riku had felt? Enraged past the point of rational thought? Holding on to his memory calmed the storms of her heart, and she managed to grasp what little sane piece of humanity she had left. "If you have something to tell me, say it now, or I'm leaving."

He seemed to be depressed at the coolness of her voice. Berri herself was quite surprised she had been so stoic in speaking, but it got the job done, "Your world, princess, is in dire peril," Xemnas had spat the title given to her, but she paid it no mind. "When you left to satisfy your curiosity with that silver-haired pest, you abandoned your world. There are certain worlds--hotspots that would become the perfect breeding ground for heartless--where Princessess of Heart are placed to keep the balance by keeping hordes of darkness at bay. As soon as you stepped foot off that soil, chaos broke loose. You should have looked more carefully before leaving, Princess," he sneered, and the generous smirk was all she could see of his face apart from two narrow yellow eyes, "All but one of the people you hold dear is still located in the middle of a seething pot of darkness."

"Wh--Nobody was there! They couldn't have just disappeared that quickly--"

"Ah, but you have no idea when the heartless actually arrived, correct? They had plenty of time to hide themselves before you arrived. Congratulations; you've condemned them all to oblivion."

And with that he was gone. Fury led to sadness, and that eventually pooled back into determination before the entire process started over again. How dare he..Her hands had begun to shake with absolute rage. She could not have left them all there. Berri was certain she would have known if they were hiding nearby. The sound of footsteps drew her out of her confusion, and as she turned to meet Sora and the gang, her eyes narrowed once more into scrutiny. It was not Sora approaching, but rather a girl around Berri's height. She had beautiful strawberry blond hair pinned up in an elegant sort of bun, and as the girl leaned forward to inspect the newcomer, she gasped. It was no stranger at all; it was Zee.

She wanted to smile, and knew she should, but the odd coincidence in the timing of her appearance was shocking. Instead of speaking Berri bolted forward, practically tackling the other girl to the floor with a hug.

"Zee! It's really you--I mean, you're solid and here and I can't believe it and--oh my that dress looks goregous on yo--"

"Uh, Analise? I can't breathe," her friend grinned, tears pooling at the edges of her pale blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Berri laughed, stepping back. Zee was actually very gorgeous. Her skin was virtually flawless, and glowed with its pale irradesence. And the dress she was wearing--it was a lovely shade of crimson red with golden-yellow stitching and trim designed to sway and flow while the dancer moved. It only made the teen feel more guilty for not making it to the performance sooner. Then maybe the heartless would not have come at all.

"Berri?" Zee frowned, setting her hands on her friend's shoulders, "Are you okay? You seem awful sad.."

"I'm alright. I guess the fact that you're actually here is just starting to sink in. I mean..what are the odds?" Berri grinned, giving the other girl one more hug before stepping back to take a good look at her, "It's just..amazing!"

Sora's voice clattered across the square, and while he must not have fully understood what was going on, he sounded just as excited as Berri, "Hey! You found her!"

Sora, Donald and Goofy jogged over, grins breaking out across their faces. "I know! Sora, Donald, Goofy--this is Zee, my best friend ever."

The girls stood grinning like fools, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. Sora smiled, and both Berri and Zee let their jaws drop as tears slipped down his cheek. "I'm happy for you two, really,"

He wiped away at the salty streaks before giving his hair a good jolting shake. Zee smiled, ruffling his hair, "Thanks, Sora. You gave me some pretty good advice."

Berri nodded, and both she and Zee stepped forward to yank the brown-haired boy into a bear-sized grouphug, "Yeah, me too--we owe you, Sora."

Before Donald had the chance to complain, Berri and her friend chose to divide and conquer; Zee went to give Donald a hug, while the black-haired girl dove for Goofy. The two grinned, unanimously stating, "And thanks to you guys, too!"

"Oh! Zee," Berri turned to face the red-head and smiled, "I need to fill you in; Sora, Donald, Goofy and I have come up with a plan for fixing everything around here..and when we're done with that, you and I can figure out what's happening back home. Want in?"

Zee nodded once, hands sitting delicately on her hips. She always did have an air of grace about her, "Of course."

Sora and the other two excused themselves in order to 'buy more potions for the escapade' but Berri suspected they just wanted to give her and Zee a few moments alone with each other. She launched herself into a descriptive explanation of their plan, the kinds of dangers it would entail, and how glad she was she wouldn't have to encounter any of those strange organization members while worrying over whether or not Zee was safe.

Zee listened just as Berri had remembered her; quietly, calmly. She did not even stop her to ask a single question, but Berri knew at least a few would come towards the end of her little sermon-like speech. Her friend was very careful never to intterupt a train of thought, and unusually accomplished at keeping track of her own, even while absorbing new information. The redhead sighed, tucking a few loose hairs behind her ears before sitting down on the rim of the fountain. Berri had mentioned a bit about Riku after getting the 'nod' from Zee when she required a promise not to breathe a word about him to Sora, and so her friend gave her only an encouraging smile as Berri sat down, dragging the black cloak gently over her lap like a blanket.

"Well," Zee started, pursing her cherry-colored lips, "I have something to confess to you first, but then I think I have some..useful information that might make this plan of yours run a bit more smoothly, okay?"

"Of course, Zee, what is it?"

"You know about Darkness already, and I'm guessing you understand how it works, but the truth is, I've sort of opened myself up to it. The darkness inside my heart, I mean..I can control it like a weapon, and even persuade heartless to obey my commands; I know it isn't really supposed to be a good thing, but I promise I'm being really careful--You can even ask Sora. He saw me a while ago when I first started looking for you."

Berri simply grinned, using Zee's shoulder as an armrest, "That's what I love about ya, Zee. You never have trouble speaking your mind--of course I'm not going to worry about you. I know you, and I know you wouldn't do anything dangerous unless you definitely thought it would bring about some good. Okay? Don't go worrying about what I think if what you're doing feels right, got it?"

Zee smiled, but the tentative expression faded into a frown, "But what DO you think?"

"I think you're still awesome, and I trust you."

The girls grinned, sitting in silence. They were genuinely happy to have each other back, but it had been a nervewracking discovery. Sometimes leaving meant you let people change, and even though both of them had certainly become stronger in very different ways, they sensed that deep down they were still the same relentless goofballs that had spent a three-day weekend watching Star Wars movies and I Love Lucy reruns in their PJs. Old friends never really died.

Sora and the gang took the opportunity to sidle back into the square area, and Berri grinned, getting to her feet. "Alright, I think everything's ready to go--that is, if you two are all set?"

Zee stood up herself, stretching unusually limber arms up over her head, "We're all set, but you won't have to take us with you. I can open up a portal right here so by the time you've dealt with your business, Kairi, Berri and I will be safely out of harm's way. 'Kay?"

Berri turned on one heel to face her friend and smiled, "Really, Zee? That's great! I'm glad you'll be coming with me, that should make things a lot better."

Zee nodded, stepping a few paces back to prepare herself. As the group heard the familiar strain of Darkness being pulled into the atmosphere, Sora stepped forward, "Analise--take care of yourself, okay?"

She turned, eyes sparkling with a renewed fire and faith before speaking, "Of course--and, Sora? Call me Berri."

"Wha--Berri? That's you?"

She nodded, tugging at a tuft of feathery, midnight-black hair, "A nickname--short for blackberry."


	15. Chapter 15

**-chapter fifteen: tragedy-**

Sora grinned, setting his hands behind his head again. "Right. Be careful Berri--and you, too, Zee."

Berri noted the slight look of surprise on Zee's face, but felt her own heart tingle with warmth as her friend smiled, thanking the brown-haired boy before stepping through the portal she had created. The black-haired teen sighed, rolling her shoulders into a more comfortable position. Before she could step through, Sora's gloved hand was on her shoulder again.

She blinked, turning to look over her shoulder at him. "Sora?"

"Hey, if you see Riku.."

He did not finish his sentence, but judging by the wavering look in his eyes, it was more a matter of not being strong enough. Instead of making him complete his request, Berri smiled, "I'll tell him you're waiting for him."

His face lit up almost immediately, and Sora grinned, picking up the keyblade Berri had left sitting on the floor. He handed it to her again, seeming to finalize the fact that it really was hers, "Promise?"

"Of course; it's a promise."

Berri took her weapon, judging the unusual weight of it in her hands. She gave one final wave to the three heroes, and watched as they turned to walk away. They had their own obstacles ahead of them, but she was surprised to find that no sense of fear or apprehension had grabbed ahold of her. Somehow she knew they would be okay, no matter what. _And so will Riku. _The thoughtful voice she had come to recognize as her intuition, the speaker for her heart, left her with a very comforting sensation as she moved through the swirling darkness to follow Zee into the corridor.

Her friend was waiting with a curious glimmer in her eyes. Zee flipped strands of red hair behind her ears and grinned, "It's about time you got here. Listen--are you sure you're ready?"

Analise sighed, taking in the cool air before spinning the keyblade up to rest against her right shoulder, "Yes, I think I am, but first I want to ask you something. Is everyone at home okay? I've been..well, I've been wondering if maybe I shouldn't have left.."

Zee blinked, stepping closer to take a better look at her companion. Berri felt the scrutiny of eyes that knew her a little too well, but the voice that came out of them was still the same sweet, slightly confused tone of a person she had missed for far too long, "I think if you had not left, every world would be in danger."

"Wha?" Berri stepped back, shifting her weight to set one hand on her hip, "What do you mean, Zee? I could have stayed..I could have protected everybody..but I thought they were gone, and so I left! How is not being there to help protecting everyone?"

She was surprised to hear the panic in her voice, and even more ashamed to see three of Zee as her eyes began to overflow with stinging tears again. His words had hurt her, that stranger nobody with the ice cold voice, and only now was she able to let it show. A sudden thought did occur to her, though, as the conversation she'd had with him circulated through her flashing memories. Zee's hand on her shoulder and a thrumming note of realization echoed around her as though she were listening to a stereo.

Zee seemed to notice something had happened, for she had the concerned look of an old mother plastered across her face. "Berri? Hey, Berri? Dude, Analise! Are you in there??"

"Oh, I--Zee, do you think he was trying to trick me?"

"Uh, who?"

"That man, from organization thirteen. Didn't you see him? He was there right before you arrived..he's got yellow eyes; flat voice?"

Berri felt her stomach flip at the look of fear that briefly grazed Zee's eyes, "You..That was Xemnas?"

"I guess so. That's what he said his name was. Why?"

"Berri, what did he tell you?"

The girl gave a frustrated sigh, and stepped back out of Zee's grip. She allowed her feet to carry her aimlessly across the transparent floor and around in circles until her thoughts began to fall into a nice, neatly organized line. When she finally did stop, her back was turned, eyes squinted with the strain of keeping herself under control. "He said everyone at home was in danger..and that it was my fault for not being there. He basically explained what being a princess of heart was supposed to do; that I was supposed to be there to protect the people I care about, but when I chose to leave and help Riku, I left everyone open for attack--"

"That's Bull! Don't you ever let him talk to you like that again!"

Berri full on leapt into the air, spun 'round and blinked, utterly shocked. She had never heard that sharp of a tone coming from Zee, but more importantly, Zee had never interrupted her before. "Wh--But Zee, what if he was right? If I -hadn't- left, wouldn't everyone be okay now?"

The redhead walked over to join her and shook her head, eyes wandering. "No, and it doesn't matter, because what you did was right. Sora is -the- keyblade wielder; I mean, sure Riku and you can use one too, but his heart is the strongest; it's his job to save us all," She set her hands on Berri's shoulders again, and the shorter girl blinked, staring up at her intently as though her very life depended on the information, "but he can't do that if he thinks he's failed his friends. You helped him save Riku from himself--you may not realize it yet, but based on everything you've told me, that's exactly what you did. You are protecting everybody by helping Riku heal from the inside out. Nobody but a princess of heart could have done that."

"Zee," Berri started, but found she had no strength for arguing left. Instead the girl smiled, and felt the expression slowly but surely sink into her eyes as she let the comforting words surround her, "Thanks."

"No, I need to thank you."

While she looked confused, Zee stepped away, turning her eyes towards the direction that would have been sky were they both not concealed in the corridor of darkness, "Thank you for not being afraid of me, even with all this darkness in my heart. I was really afraid that you might not look at me the same way. I guess I should have known better, huh?"

Berri grinned, pretending to glare, "Yes, you should have! But I'm glad you told me so. I think maybe that's what scares Riku about talking to Sora gain, too," Zee turned around and gave a contemplative nod, "So we'll just have to show him everything will be okay."

"Right. I think we can do that," Zee nodded, and her eyes hardened into stones of determination. "Okay, speaking of Riku--I need you to do something. I've never been to the place where Organization thirteen stays, I've just met a few of their members scattered about here and there, but I can't quite pinpoint people like you can. If you can close your eyes and try to find Riku for me, then I can open a portal in the direction you think he is."

"Are you sure that will work..?"

"Of course. Just give it a try."

Berri nodded, and closed her eyes just as she had been told. Very slowly her world began to melt away. The sound of shifting darkness faded, leaving nothing but a gently wooshing breeze. Zee's signature of darkness mingled harshly with light reverberated brightly against her sixth sense, but one piece at a time Berri took the image apart, removing it from her mind's eye. She was left alone in the mental image her heart had created. She concentrated, calling out with every ounce of strength her heart posessed for the one person she needed to know was safe again. A flicker of silver passed into the picture, but swiftly faded. She held on to that glimmer of hope and pulled harder, coaxing her memories out to aid the search for Riku. His name alone seemed to help, and a faded outline of a boy with silver hair darted across her field of vision. He was moving fast, still dressed in the signature black cloak so often worn by Organization thirteen despite his recent loss of the first one Berri had seen him in. She assumed he'd found a new one, because it was quite obvious the picture of him she was seeing was a recently formed image of her friend. His facial features sharpened and came into focus as she thought about the sound of his voice; unique, laced with bitter sorrow and wisdom. His outline moved again, and Berri subconsciously turned to face the direction it came to rest in. She heard him move, and sigh before turning his brilliantly green eyes towards the sky. The girl caught her breath in her throat as he paused, and his voice echoed faintly through the almost completely black void of her mind with a simple; "_berri?"_

She opened her eyes again, and a rush of sound and color barraged her senses. Zee was there, anxiously staring, and the girl realized she had taken a quarter turn to her right. Her hand seemed to rise of its own accord and pointed off into the distant abyss of darkness.

"He's there, Zee--that way."

Her friend grinned, and together they walked forward into the freshly forming tendrils of dark energy. The place where they emerged was starkly white with just hints of pastel lavendar and mint green. It smelled crisp and clean, just the way it looked--that was until you turned and noticed the glittering magenta bars of cells that lined the hallway's walls. Berri grinned and turned to face Zee.

The redhead blinked, studying their surroundings as though she could engrave the image inside her retinas, "Is this the place?"

"Yes, definitely."

A third voice cut violently through the atmosphere and shattered their sense of triumph. It was female, and gave a vaguely irritated, "Who's there?"

Berri glanced at her friend, who whispered a quick, "Go check it out. I'll watch this end to make sure nobody sneaks up on us."

"Okay."

The black-haired heroine took a calming breath before striding confidently down the long rows of cages, but what she found there surprised her. The voice had not come from an organization member, but instead from a girl with reddish-brown hair--well, quite honestly it was almost pink, just like the dress she wore.

The girl seemed to carry herself with caution, and scrutinized Berri with beautifully blue eyes that looked so much like Sora's. She stepped closer to the cell, and noted that inside with the girl was a dog, yellow in color with a green collar. He looked friendly enough, but the girl inside the cage would have none of her gawking, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Berri jumped, startled, and turned from her dazed staring at the oddly shapen dog to answer her questions, "Uh, I'm Berri. I'm here...I'm looking for a friend. Who are you?"

After a very uncomfortable silence, the girl in the cage softened her expression, and gently touched a hand to herself in introduction, "My name is Kairi. Are you with the organization?"

Her second question went completely unnoticed. Berri was too overcome with absolute euphoria to even comprehend the words after 'kairi.' "Oh! Kairi! I can't believe we found you so quickly, this is absolutely amazing! Zee--It's her, it's Kairi!"

She spun around to wave at Zee, who simply laughed and nodded before turning back to her post. Kairi on the other hand seemed genuinely confused, "You know me? I don't think we've ever met before.."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kairi." she calmed her rush of happiness long enough to turn, and speak in a more civilized tone, "I am a friend of Sora and Riku. They've both been very worried about you--somebody told them you were here, and my friend Zee and I offered to help them look. We haven't met before, but they've told me a lot about you."

Kairi looked at her, and shock soon melted into joy, but even that could not completely mask her desperation, "They're okay, right? Sora isn't coming is he?"

"Wh--Sora is fine, he has Donald and Goofy with him. Riku..well, I am still looking for him. Why don't you want Sora to come? Aren't you; well, don't you miss him?"

Kairi frowned, and bit her lip before stepping back away from the glowing bars, "Of course. I miss them both, very much, but I'm afraid if they come for me they'll get hurt. I'm just the bait.."

"Berri?!"

All three of the girls jumped with a start, and the dog leapt to its feet, tail wagging madly. Berri felt her jaw drop of its own accord as she allowed her eyes to rest on Riku.

"There you are! I swear, Riku, you are the most difficult person to track dow--"

"Riku's here?" Kairi chimed in, and the girl realized that from her angle, Kairi was unable to see Riku at the far end of the hallway.

Berri watched as Riku pulled his hood far over his face. She wanted to tell him it was okay, that Kairi certainly seemed like the kind of friend that would understand, but she did not want to make him uncomfortable.

Riku stepped forward, and Berri saw fit to step back. She wanted him to talk to Kairi, and her actions certainly made it known. He stepped up to the bars, and made his face scarce within the shadows of his hood. "I've found someone that can help you escape without breaking through the bars and alerting the organization. I'm sorry, but, you'll have to sit tight a little longer..okay, Kairi?"

He was trying to mask his voice. Berri could see that plainly, but she could not hide the smile that crept onto her face as Kairi reached through the bars to take Riku's hand. "Riku..it really is you, isn't it?"

"We're both glad you're okay," Berri added, determined to establish her role as an ally to Kairi, just in case a fight should occur in the future.

Riku nodded, "Yes." He looked away, his gaze resting on Berri this time, "Why did you come? It's too dangerous here.."

"Riku, you left me all by myself."

"I know. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm so--"

"Ah, no. Don't apologize; I'm not completely helpless," Berri grinned when she saw the familiar twinkle of amusement in Riku's face, "But you did worry me. I was afraid YOU would get hurt, not the other way around."

"Right. I promise; I won't do that to you again," and then she watched him turn, nodding to Kairi, "Or you, either. I have a few things to take care of, but I promise I will come back to make sure you're safe."

Kairi frowned, but nodded. "Okay. I trust you."

A shockwave of heat surged across the floor and through the hallway they resided in. Doors flew off the hinges in a violently flashing desply of black and purple explosive power. But none of the noise was equal to the painfilled shriek that came from the end of the hall opposite Berri, Riku and Kairi. The black-haired girl sucked in a gasp that nearly left her knees crippled with fear as she turned.

"Oh my god..Zee!"

She was too far away to be caught; too far away to be saved. The redhead took on the full brunt of the attack that had all but melted the walls and columns just beyond the set of white double doors leading into the holding areas. She was thrown back, and crashed violently against the hard tile flooring before finally skidding to a stop a great distance away from her original position. Berri's feet moved before she ordered them to, and for once she was grateful.

Riku's panicked warning shout of just her name, "Berri!" did nothing to slow her down. She pounded her shoes against the floor until she felt certain it would break beneath her feet. A second surge of darkness was gathering, and though she sensed it, she refused to acknowledge it. Even then she felt a second, smaller blip of cold, black energy stirring near Kairi. Any normal person would have worried about being flanked, but she had eyes and ears only for Zee, the scorched and broken figure lying before her on the floor. A second erruption of sound reached her ears, and Berri fell to her knees next to Zee. Before the attack was released Riku was there, hands outstretched to form the same half-domed barrier he had once used to protect her from fire, but she had no energy left to admire the chivalry. To be truthful, she had no energy left at all.

Riku's voice cut through her pain one more time, "Berri! Get her out of here!"

She heard his words falling against her ears, but they were meaningless until she learned for herself just how much damage had been done. Berri leaned down almost fearfully to put her cheek just above Zee's mouth. She could not feel any air, and feared death, but just as Berri could feel her own heart breaking the redheaded girl's chest rose, pulling in a shaky, but visible breath that confirmed life. Riku's gloved hand was in front of her again as she sat up on her knees, and carefully tucked between his fingers was a vial containing an irradescent green liquid.

"Berri, can you hear me? Come on, Berri, I need you to hear me."

Riku's voice was strained, and the worry she was causing him tugged at a piece of strength Berri had almost dropped in her hurry to get to Zee. She coughed, clearing her foggy voice, and nodded, "I hear you, Riku."

"Good," He set up another shield, bracing his entire body against the blow that pelted it's beautifully reflective surface, "Take Zee through the portal. It'll take you home, and as soon as you get there make her drink this."

She closed her fingers around the vial of green liquid and blinked, staring at a portal she had not even noticed despite its position three or so feet away. Her heart fluttered, sending butterflies to fill her stomach, and Berri bolted to her feet, turning to look at Riku, "Back home?! Riku! I can't just leave you here; I promised I would--"

"Go! She needs you right now, Berri. Besides--you already saved me."

The girl frowned, sniffling as she tucked the potion gently into her front right pocket. Berri knelt down once more and in a rather ungraceful moment, she threw Zee across her shoulders in her best attempt at a fireman's carry. "Riku.."

"Don't worry. We'll see each other again."

"Promise?"

"I promise, now go. Please."

"Okay, but before I do, there's one more thing I have to say," Berri shifted Zee's weight, and took a step closer to the portal, "Sora is waiting for you. He knows somehow, just like Kairi and I do, that deep inside you're still the Riku he remembers."

She could not wait for an answer, and Riku knew he did not have to give her one. Berri dragged her feet, struggling to pull herself and her unconscious friend through the flickering waves of the portal. With one final glance over her shoulder she broke through, storing the image of Riku in battle within her heart. It would keep her awake at night; haunt her until she once again knew he was safe, but then again..he -had- promised she would see him again.


	16. Chapter 16

**-Chapter Sixteen: Transformations-**

The immediate sense of silence was enough to make her cry. Berri treked halfway through the corridor, already forming a plan in her head. There was no way she would leave him; no way at all. She felt Zee getting heavier..or was she becoming fatigued? It did not matter. She reached what was about the center of her pathway and very carefully knelt on the floor before lowering Zee as gently as possible to the ground. Berri scooted herself around, lifting the redhead into her lap before fishing out the vile of green liquid. Speaking of vile, it did appear to be rather putrid, but she trusted Riku.

Berri took the topper of the container in her teeth and pulled until she heard the pop and fwoosh of a vacuum being broken. The girl turned her head and spat out the cork-like object before very carefully tilting Zee's head and pouring the contents of the vial down her throat. The smell wafting from the glass container was not nearly as putrid as she had expected; in fact, it smelled rather pleasant. Hopefully it tasted that way as well; for Zee's sake anyway.

She adjusted her weight and took in a deep breath. A note of alarm drifted softly about her consciousness as she sat there, completely content in a swirling corridor made of nothing but darkness. Shouldn't that have scared her? Berri frowned, trying to remember if it ever had. She was certain it had; Riku had spent a few moments convincing her it was safe to go in with him, but only when desperation called did he let her go in alone. Surely that meant it was dangerous? All the same Berri could not help feeling content; like she were safely in the home of an old friend. That realization almost made her ill.

Now, Berri had worked in a great sum of time in her plan. In fact, she had expected the need to carry Zee through the other side of the portal and back to their home before she could return to help Riku, but surprisingly enough as she set the emptied vial down next to her, the girl lying before her coughed, sputtered, and sat bolt upright. Zee's wounds had began to fade, almost melt into nonexistance. Berri watched as her friend's eyes lost their glossy haze and became sharp and clear, as she had always remembered them to be. Before she could ask any questions Berri gave the taller girl a hug that would break ribs had it been given to anyone else. Zee laughed, trying to shove her off, but the girl resisted just a moment longer.

"Zee, I'm so glad you're okay!" Berri finally released her and stood, one hand extended to help the other girl to her feet, "I'm sorry I don't have time to explain; but I need you to go through that portal," Berri pointed towards home, knowing from their past conversation that Zee would not be able to tell where she was being sent, "While I go through that one. It's all a part of the plan, okay? I really am glad you're okay.."

Zee raised an eyebrow, giving her a confused, and a little less-than-convinced grin, "Okay, I'll see you on the other side."

The girl nodded and turned back towards the portal to Castle Oblivion--of course, she did not yet know this was its name, nor that it was a castle, but all the same--only to find it was dwindling. She bit back her gasp and listened to Zee's retreating footsteps a moment longer until they completely disappeared, and the portal her redheaded friend had escaped through was gone entirely. Berri dashed forward and dove through the remaining tendrils of black energy. Only when she felt the cold tingle of white tiles against her cheek did she risk breathing again. Her plan had worked; she was back with Riku. Right?

The girl opened her emerald green eyes, and could not contain the second gasp of surprise that errupted. The beautifully carved columns that had lined the beginning of the hallway were destroyed. Bricks and chunks were strewn about the blackened marble floors. What she assumed had been the doorway was now a roughly hewn hole of stone and lingering fizzles of darkness. It was most certainly not a beautiful sight as it had once been.

She scrambled to her feet and spun 'round four times, just to make sure he was not there. When she discovered Riku had moved on from the place all she could do was frown. Now she really was completely alone again. Berri turned, jogging to clear her mind, and skidded to a stop before the cell where she had met Kairi. The girl was gone, and so was the dog, but her cell did have a lingering sense of hope. Berri had found her without even reallly trying, and she already knew from experience she would be able to find her other friends, especially if they were all together again.

Her racing mind settled into a calm determination. She had a promise to keep her going. Berri gave an affirmed nod and strode out of the decrepit hallway with absolutely no reserve. She was confident nothing would stop her now. The same tingling warmth that often accompanied her when she was doing the right thing seeped into her skin and bones, making the journey upstairs even easier. Every so often she would stop and listen, but there were no signs of people on her level each time she tried. A mass of darkness did lie overhead, and she assumed it meant there were groups of people above her. She stepped noiselessly out into a wider, more white hallway. It had been travelled recently judging by the smell--yes, there it was again. Did darkness have a smell? Berri sighed, and stood carefully, closing her eyes. She searched for Riku, and Sora, even Donald and Goofy.

It took a few moments, but their images struck her all at once with such clear force that she stumbled backward, arms thrown out for balance. When her eyes opened again, she found a rather unwelcome sight before her. It was Xemnas again. Berri narrowed her eyes, drawing the keyblade with the unbloomed flower she had learned to recognize as her own.

"What do you want, Xemnas?"

"How peculiar..I had been told you were back in the castle, but I could not believe you would abandon your home a second time. I just had to see for myself."

The girl sighed, clearly exasperated, "More mind games? Seriously? Come on, 'hun, you need to learn that I am a girl. We're -born- playing mind games."

The empty shell of a man before her smirked, and took a step back into a plume of portal darkness, "I will see you again very soon."

His disappearance comforted her somewhat, but she was still irked. He would have been the perfect test subject for her keyblade--which, she realized, she had not yet used properly. Berri shook off the interference of his retching darkness to follow the strong, pulsing tug towards her friends. She broke into a run up the stairs, and found many more hallways that appeared to be built identically, or close to identically, as the ones before. By the time she lost count of the floors she'd passed, another trip up a short flight of stairs brought her face to face with some rather peculiar creatures.

They were white, like everything else there seemed to be, and gauntly built. The creatures reminded her of heartless, but they moved more smoothly--more dangerously. The symbol engraved on their foreheads was different as well, but she recognized it as the same insignia Saix's nobodies had carried. They must have been nobodies as well, but she did not give them time to explain. Berri flipped forward, keyblade still in hand, and with one fatal swipe across the group of three's midsections, they were gone. Her jaw dropped in slight awe at the ease with which the keyblade had moved, and how well it had worked.

"Oh.." Berri muttered, shaking herself out of her stupified state to continue her trek. She spun round a corner, and found that instead of leading straight up as the others had, this pathway curved outside the castle walls to a sort of balcony area. She shielded her eyes from the pulsating light of a moon that, she soon realized was not actually a moon. It was a heart-shaped, glowing..something, and based on what she could see, it was falling apart. Her eyes travelled downward with the falling spheres of beauty until, as she watched in horror, they began shifting into little shadow heartless. Berri cringed at the thought when she realized the entire moon, the entire glowing heart, was made of the smaller hearts of real people..and now they were all crumbling together.

Her attention turned to the short stairwell ahead, and she jumped them three at a time before nearly tripping over Donald.

"Woah! Wait..Donald?"

He turned rather grumpily, but once he realized who she was, the little duck seemed equally confused, "Berri?"

She blinked him into focus before raising her eyes to find everyone else there as well. Donald, Goofy, Sora and Kairi, Riku, and..a giant mouse, now?

"You guys are okay."

It was not a question, but they all nodded. Many in the group had dazed expressions on their faces, but Berri could not take her eyes off Riku. She walked over, stopping in front of him, and blinked. "You..you look clearer."

The girl frowned, convinced her eyes must have been damaged, and waved her hand back and forth in front of his face as if to wave away whatever magnifying film had fallen in front of it. Riku simply took her hand and lowered it before nodding, "I'm back to normal..they can see me, too."

He had grinned, and she smiled as well, bouncing on the heels of her shoes with excitement, "Oh! That's awesome!"

Sora exchanged a glance with Kairi before stepping forward, one finger held up as if to excuse his interruption, "Wait a sec..I thought you said you didn't actually know him?"

"Actually, Sora, I said I might have met him. I never really said I hadn't," she gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry. I would have liked to tell you, but he made me promise."

Berri narrowed her eyes at Riku, wagging a finger at him. He just laughed and shook his head. The mouse she had noticed before remained silent, watching curiously until Riku's laughter faded. He stepped forward then, spindly little tail curling back and forth behind him as he held up a four-fingered hand, "You must be Berri."

"Hm?" She turned to look at him and nodded, shaking the mouse's hand, "Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you..?"

Donald and Goofy piped up at once, each of them practically overflowing with joy, "That's the king! We finally found him."

"Oh!" Berri grinned, shaking the mouse's hand more vigorously, "That's great, I was really hoping they would find you, er..your majesty."

Mickey grinned, nodding himself, and turned to glance casually at Riku, "I've heard a lot about you. I'm glad you're alright, Berri."

She smiled. "Me too," her attention turned to Sora and then Kairi, "I'm glad you're alright, too, Kairi. I know I don't know you very well, but you definitely seem very nice."

Kairi smiled such a dazzling smile that Berri felt confused and dazed all at once. Then she remembered that Kairi was a princess too, so it was not unusual to see such light coming from her, "Thanks. You seem nice, too," The girl with the pink dress walked forward, and gave Berri a hug, "And thank you for looking out for the boys. I know they can be an awful lot of trouble."

Her laugh proved she was teasing them, but the boys pouted all the same with Sora adding in a, "Hey..what's that supposed to mean?"

The group collected themselves, glancing higher towards the utmost levels of what Berri now realized was a castle. She sighed, swinging the keyblade of hers twice before resting it against her shoulder,

"So..what is this place called?"

Xemnas' voice answered again, this time from behind them all, "Castle Oblivion, princess."

Berri rolled her eyes, muttering 'again?' as Riku and Sora spun around, eyes narrowed viciously. She noticed Kairi somehow become shuffled behind everyone else, but refused to be shielded herself. Instead she turned back around to stare at him, one hand resting on her hip.

"What do you want -this- time?"

Riku blinked, turning to look at her, "Berri..?"

Xemnas raised a brow, obviously pretending to be taken aback by her brazen response. He extended a hand swirling with darkness, and with a simple hushed, monotoned voice, responded, "Just to reunite you with an old friend."

The darkness spread, molding to match the form of a woman Berri knew all to well--a woman who would not take the fact she had been abducted very kindly at all. Krysta always had been a fiery one. The woman who had served as Berri's mother for far too long was steely eyed, and altogether pissed. She glared upwards at her captor, booted foot tapping rhytmatically before she chided, "Ohh, if I was your mother, you would get such a whoopin'--"

Berri could not hear her. Of course, she wanted Krysta to be safe, but something inside of her had snapped. Enough. He had wronged far too many people, and Berri had seen enough. She cut off Krysta's ranting, her eye contact never breaking from Xemnas', "You really don't get it, do you?"

He raised an eyebrow, still gripping Krysta by the upper arm as tugged every so often. Riku had inched his way closer, standing protectively, but even he seemed to want to hear her words as much as Xemnas did. The silver-haired boy softened his expression to look at her, his eyes posing a question she did not have the time to answer.

Xemnas narrowed his eyes, "And what is it I don't understand?"

Berri sighed, swinging the keyblade down into a more..deadly position. "I am not afraid of you anymore."

He stuck out his chest, and she watched a very feeble attempt to look menacing. Any other day before then she would have shrunk back, but he had lost his edge. "Then you are a foolish girl, princess."

"No, I'm not. You can't scare me anymore; if you want to try, though, by all means go ahead. I don't care what you can do. I was only afraid because I didn't understand what you were. Now I think it's pretty obvious you're a sorry excuse for a nobody, let alone man."

She could feel his false fury growing, but even that did not silence her rampage. Krysta seemed shocked at first. It had been years since Berri had shown any backbone, but the sight did make her old foster-mother grin, and that was all the encouragement Berri needed.

"You thought life was too hard, and instead of trying, you gave up and started looking for an easy way out," Berri frowned, but made herself continue, "So let me give you a little helpful advice," She rolled her shoulders, slinking in a very graceful, catlike fashion to her fighting stance of choise, "There isn't one."

Before he had the opportunity to counter, Xemnas hissed a strained breath through his teeth, shielding his eyes from a sudden burst of light. It poured across the keyblade in Berri's grasp, and while she and everyone else looked utterly stunned, the King had only smiled. The light broke away in glittering fragments that floated away into the air around them before dwindeling in tiny sparks until it had all evaporated completely. When it was gone, the keyblade she held was new; similar, but quite obviously different than the one she had been holding only moments before. It was golden in color and stretched out towards a fully bloomed white flower with silver petal tips. Two vibrantly green leaves coddled the bottom of the flower before reaching in gentle curves up the weapon's shaft that happened to posess a single, silver vine laced with smaller green leaves twining around it. It was beautiful, much lighter than her last one, but she could feel her fingertips buzzing with power from the new weapon.

Riku reached out towards her, and drew his hand back before grinning, "Well. There's something you don't see every day."

Berri smiled, nudging his arm with her elbow, "Come on. Let's see if we can't work a little beautification on this place."

Sora blinked, raising an eyebrow, "Beautification?"

Berri grinned wildly before looking over her shoulder at him, and nodding towards Xemnas, "Do you really want to look at that thing all day?"


	17. Chapter 17

**--Chapter Seventeen: Shattered--**

They all seemed to change their tune at that last remark. Berri could see she was not the only one who had suffered enough of the man's irritating personality. Still, she could not help allowing her mind to drift slowly back to the things he had said. A piece of her had gone through the portal with Zee, and back off to their home where her familiar room was waiting. As the memories passed by she could nearly smell the cold, crips morning air. She could feel the slick wooden floors beneath her feet, and hear the creaking of hinges as people moved through the ancient house. The rolling hills that had always promised security rose around her as the daydream took over, tempting her.

The image in her mind contrasted darkly with the stark white walls to her right and the vast expanse of nothing but air and a few scattered buildings to her left. It was an open place. The idea that corridors of darkness were also very open places struck her as well. Never in a million years would she have believed such an unprotected space would feel comforting to her, but now she wanted nothing more to be safely within the swirling colors of the corridors. She chided herself for letting her mind wander, and as Sora, Riku, and the King crowded around in preparation for the fight, Berri's emerald eyes slid over to Krysta's face.

The woman that had taken over the role as her mother was absolutely beaming from one ear to the next. She was standing small and defenseless in the captivity of the most powerful man Berri had ever met, and smiling. The girl's brows pulled together in a puzzled way, but Krysta's eyes merely shined. The woman adjusted her balance in her thick boots, and the teen watched in slight awe as her foster mother's eyes glittered, and a single tear slid down her soon to be wrinkled cheek. Berri did not understand, nor did anyone else seem to notice, but the following actions struck out loud and clear against her eardrums.

Krysta used the old rustic womanly strength she had always known her to posses for ripping her arm away from Xemnas' grasp. The woman swung her booted foot 'round the back of his knees, and so startled was the yellow-eyed man that he actually toppled, crumpling like a paper bag to the floor. The woman trotted out of the way, and before Berri could move Goofy and Donald had sidled to her side for protection.

Xemnas carefully composed his features before standing, shoulders squared defiantly. His simple change in posture had completely altered the effects he had on the inhabitants of the landing and short stairwell. He was more menacing, and far more dangerous. She could feel the power of darkness pooling around him as his mock-reaction anger rose. Riku had stepped closer to her, weapon poised for attack. Sora was ready to go as well, but he had of course taken the time to see to Kairi's safety first. She did not seem pleased at her lack of ability to fight without him panicking, but her light was enough to keep him strong. Even Berri could see that clearly. The organization member lifted his eyes to lock them on Berri's. They were filled with venom she had never seen, but still fear failed to consume her. He was weaker than her; not in a physical sense by any means, but she knew he had no motivation. Berri herself had people to love, people to lose, and therefore people to protect. He would not win.

The man's hand shot up, palm facing the small group of heroes and heroines with such speed that she would have sworn he had been standing that way all the time. Her ears picked up the faintest sound of a crackling, sizzling sound and the woosh of air flying past her left shoulder. Riku hit the floor hard and groaned, grasping at his shirt over the section of his body where the blast of dark energy had hit. Before she could panic he raised a hand, and murmered "I'm okay."

His voice was strained, and while she believed him, it took a great amount of her effort to turn, keeping her eyes pinned on Xemnas in case he tried anything else. Again, she was too slow. Sora flew back beside her, and the King had assumed a position near Riku to assure his safety. Kairi bolted forward to Sora, dropping to her knees beside him when he fell. Berri spun around to help, but found herself thrown back towards Xemnas by a barely visible shield of dancing, irradescent light. It was a barrier created by the nobody, and she realized with a goran of her own it was designed to keep her seperate from everyone else. Fortunately Donald and Goofy were still present, keeping Krysta safe, but now the only thing helping her was the keyblade, and a deep sense of panic for Riku. Neither would be very useful in her current situation. The girl took a few cleansing breaths, concentrating her energy on the feeling the cool air provided as it filled her lungs, and the softly whirring sound it created when she released her sigh. He would not play mind games with her; not anymore.

She readied herself, having figured out it was wise to watch not his hands, but his feet. He required bracing to fire one of the bolts of darkness without being thrown off balance himself, and so Berri lowered her gaze. His boots shifted softly, and as the swirling mass of dark energy bolted towards her the girl dropped to the floor, rolling underneath the attack and closer to him. Berri rolled into a standing position and twisted her body to the left, pulling the keyblade in her right hand all the way across her chest as if she were going to throw a frisbee. And throw she did--the keyblade flew towards Xemnas, fueled by her desire to protect the people around her. It dragged behind it a plethora of glittering sparks she could only begin to describe as gold fire. It struck him square against the chest, and the miniature explosion of light throw him down onto his back for a second time. Berri held out her hand, calling the keyblade back into her grasp, but the barrier behind her still had not disappeared. She sighed, spinning the keyblade twice, but despite her waiting it would not disappear. Riku was on his feet again, and with one rather violent dash he rammed his shoulder against the barrier. The force of the impact caused an array of colors to spread from where he'd hit, but the barrier stood, absorbing the battering.

The girl frowned almost apologetically at his forlorn expression. She could see he was worried. Her attention turned back to Krysta at Goofy's surprised yelp. Xemnas was up again, reaching for the woman. Donald swung his gnarled staff at the nobody, but found himself flat on his face several feet away when the burst of ice did nothing helpful. She threw herself forward into a sprint, and watched as the world melted away around her..that is, until a particular deformity near the edge of the platform caught her eye. It was Xemnas, still lying on the floor and struggling to stand. Berri skidded to a halt as Goofy rammed back the man attacking Krysta. There were two of them; one real, and the other a fake, but both of them equally as dangerous she supposed. The standing Xemnas, or the fake, threw Goofy to the side, much to Sora and the King's dismay. The girl could hear them calling to him, but Goofy was having a difficult time standing. The fake reached out to grasp the collar of Krysta's shirt, and Berri dove forward one more time, weapon at the ready. She struck him hard on the back, and while he cried out in pain, it only seemed to tighten his grasp. The Xemnas copy whirred past her with blinding speed, only stopping at the opposite end of the platform; the one that fell so far to the ground that Berri feared the bottom was a mere illusion.

She felt panic swell in her chest as he lifted Krysta off her feet, and the original Xemnas finally staggered into a standing position after her deadly blow to the chest. He was sturdy. The girl charged again. Even as her feet pounded against the floor she could feel time slowing, and all the fear and panic within her heart ebbing away. Everything about her was calm as her mind settled on what she would have to do. Only the tiniest bit of despair lurched in her stomach as she realized there was no chance to tell Riku goodbye; to tell Riku that for the first time in her life, she was in love. The fake Xemnas waited, poised with Krysta firmly in his grasp until Berri was just a hair's breadth away from rescuing her foster mother. Only then did he coil his muscles like a spring and turn, violently throwing the woman over the edge of the platform and into the swirling atmosphere below.

With help from Sora and the King Riku dissolved the barrier. She heard his cry, his plea for her to stop, and to wait, but knew she could not comply. The fake Xemnas evaporated into millions of glittering purple fragments of darkness just as the real one slipped back through a portal to avoid Sora's advance. Berri did not stop. She could hear Riku coming closer, calling her name, and nearly frantic with worry, but her mind overpowered her heart and shut the sound of his beautiful voice out. She readied her weapon, and thrust the sharp end of the keyblade into the marble-esque rim of the platform. Berri used the force behind her thrust to throw herself over the edge with an added burst of speed. As she fell forward the girl felt Riku's fingers barely graze her boots, but he had been too slow. She folded her arms tightly against her sides, lacing her ankles together for speed as she fell towards Krysta. The elderly woman reached out her hands, and with some amount of effort Berri felt their fingers twine together, and she carefully pulled her foster mother closer to safety. Darkness swirled around them--darkness tinted with Riku's familiar presence. He caught them in a portal using a panicked surge of dark energy, but no matter how hard she tried, the girl could not maneuver herself to get one last look at her silver-haired friend. The tendrils of blackness swallowed her and Krysta completely, but even their familiarity could not comfort her. She kept a firm and comforting grip on Krysta as they both sunk further and further into the darkness. Berri clamped her eyes shut, but even then the girl could not prevent steaming hot tears from streaking down her cheeks. The salt stung, and her throat became alight with crippling fire. She felt cobblestones gently phase beneath her feet, and her shoulders begin to shake with the sobs that were consuming her. It was Krysta's turn to wrap her arms around the girl, patting at her shoulders and back with soft, crooning words of encouragement. The swirling portal faded, closing her away from Riku forever, and while she heard that sucking vaccuum of pain, Berri did not hear a single one of Krysta's words. Had she been able to speak at all, she would have chosen silence. The ache in her chest was unbearable, and even the familiar scents of home taunted her. For a moment she would have sworn, would have sworn on her life that her very heart had been shattered.

[I know this is a short chapter guys, but things are coming to a close. In fact, the next chapter may very well be the last one in this particular installment of Berri and Riku's tale. =) ]


	18. Chapter 18

**--Chapter Eighteen: Castaway--**

She felt Krysta's arms tighten around her shoulders, and the smell of perfume invaded her senses. The woman was safe. Her foster mother was safe, and so was Zee. What else could she have possibly hoped for?

Footsteps thundered against the chilled cobblestones beneath her crumpled form. Her shoulders were still shaking with sobs, but her entire body was numb. Berri could no longer feel the sting of salty tears as they ravaged her cheeks in glittering gashes. The agonizing burn of her throat had faded into nothingness. Her only proof that she was still alive came in a feeling far too extreme to be labelled something as trivial and tame as mere pain. The very fabric of her existence, her heart, had been wrenched from her body when she jumped. It was back with the first boy she had ever loved, back in a land she would never see again.

Bodies crowded around her. She could feel their heat breaking through the stone shell of defense she had set up around herself. The girl could process noise that came in the form of voices, but individual words were not recognized. When reality finally became a tangible object, Berri forcibly opened her emerald eyes. She was immediately overcome by the sights, sounds, and smells of home that had before been lost behind a thickening fog of agony and despair. Bright green and rolling blankets of security formed the hills that she had once so longed to see again. The blackened scene was to her back, and so out of mind for the time being. Rooftops in mid-repair after the raid conducted by heartless proved a thriving, healing community. A gentle, comforting breeze circulated through the mass of bodies and hovering people--neighbors, friends, families that had once called her the girl on the corner. It was a beautiful place, the absolute picture of a perfect valley society, and the very thought of being there a moment longer made her sick.

Zee's feet appeared before her, and even though Berri was aware of the fact that she had glanced up into the face of her friend, her memories ended there. She passed through the process of standing in a deathly haze that left no detail clear, no color visible. She allowed herself to be dragged through a black and white silent movie of concern, and joy at her return without enjoying a single second of it. They even took her home, attempted to coax her into eating, but her eyes had stopped seeing. Her ears stopped processing sound. Her heart had all but stopped beating.

---------

An inaudible groan surfaced beneath the sea of feathery down comforter. The rolling waves of white were gently swathed in the rays of the rising sun. The lump snuggled deeply into the recesses of the bed rolled away from the light and towards the direction of a door that had not been used recently. Before she even sat up, she knew what to expect. A wave of cold air slammed against her bare shoulders, chilling the fabric of her turquoise cami so quickly that the girl shivered.

Her hair jutted out in lopsided spikes, feathery tufts of chaos that would have made a clown giggle. She yawned and felt the bones of her jaw crackle and pop against one another. Her brain stretched its weary limbs as the girl forced her eyes to percieve the images before her. It was her bedroom. Wooden floorboards, a chocolatey shade of brown, creaky door, wide window and all. She was back at her foster home. Memories flashed through her head, and in a matter of seconds she knew Krysta was safe. She knew Zee was home with her. She knew Riku was gone forever. And most importantly, she knew three months had passed.

The girl stood, ignoring the sudden slap of icy sensations that met her bare feet. Her behavior for the past three months could be described as that of a vegetable. Only Krysta's force feeding had kept her healthy, but her strength was fading quickly. Standing for only a few seconds had told her that her muscles were furious, and leaden from disuse. Those facts apalled her, but nothing could be compared to her treatment of the loved ones she had worked so hard to regain. Krysta. Her calm amidst chaos, her shelter from the first emotional storm that had assaulted her being was a person she had mistreated. The woman had cared for her, fed her, told her everything would be okay--twice. Berri had stayed silent, lying still as though in a coma. She had ignored her words of comfort, her words of pleading, but not once had she needed to ignore a word of anger. Krysta was still proud of her. She told her every day. Berri did not feel she deserved it.

Her attention turned to the mirror before her. It was sparkling clean. She knew from the scent of lemons and pine that Krysta had been cleaning her room for her when she could not find the will to move. Today was different. They needed her still, and while it was awkward to admit, she needed them too. Berri shuffled around the top of her vanity dresser in a desperate attempt to do something about the ghost of a figure staring back out at her. She had not brushed her hair in ages, though she did vaguely remember being forced to shower the day before. Her hand fell not on her brush, but instead on a small, almost insignificantly sized box. The girl let her emerald eyes drop to view the strange obstacle in her search, and felt her heart squeeze. It was not just a box, but a silvery blue metallic box with a brightly colored violet bow. A present, just for her, and from Zee judging by the scribbled tag taped to the corner of the lid. She reached carefully for the present and held the delicate parsel between her two hands. Berri found her fingers shaking through an effort to remain compose. She did not deserve anything from Zee, either. Berri closed her fingertips around the ribbon and pulled, unravelling the beautifully composed bow. It fell aside easily, and the girl stuck the tag on the rim of her mirror using the tape already plastered to the back of it. She then proceeded to lift the top off the box to reveal a tiny wad of tissue paper. Berri delved her fingers inside, feeling curiosity bubble at the base of her stomach. It was her first emotion in three months--a definite improvement. She unwrapped the parcel carefully, afraid that it might perhaps be something delicate. What she found inside brought a smile to her lips.

It was a necklace. The pendant was crystal clear glass shaped like a trademark valentine heart, and there, encased in the middle was the seed of a blackberry. Her new pendant was strung on a black cord, and she immediately hooked the clasp around her neck. The glass caught and refracted the light beautifully, just the way Zee's personality brought out the best in those around her. Berri needed to thank her, but first, her hair needed attention.

She listened to the shushing sound of her soft-bristled brush against her hair, which, consequently had grown longer during her time as a lump of flesh and emptiness. Berri felt different, and with each stroke calming her, she felt stronger. Her friends were safe--all of them. Even though she could not set eyes on Riku, or even Sora and the rest of the game, the feeble little voice of her intuition crooned comforting promises that they were all well. The girl finished going through her hair and smiled, practicing the almost forgotten expression. She could do this. She knew it. Berri stepped over to her bed, reclaiming the sash that had so often accompanied her before, and tied it into her hair. The motions were practiced, bred into her routine, and so she did not even have to pause in tying the not to turn towards the creaking door as someone pushed it open.

It was Zee, closely followed by Krysta. She watched their expressions turn from confusion, to shock, and finally to joy. Her two friends flooded into the room faster than she could follow with her eyes until two strong pairs of arms were suffocating her. Zee giggled ridiculously and stepped back, wiping a heavy stream of tears from her eyes, but Krysta refused to let go.

"Oh, Berri, you're awake finally," Zee started, laughing through her tears, "I'm so glad. We were so worried about you!"

The girl frowned, though she was practically tearing up herself, "I am so sorry, you two. I cannot believe I just...I collapsed, I can't even.."

Krysta shushed her, crushing Berri in a second motherly bear hug as she rocked back and forth. The girl watched Zee sit tiredly on the corner of her bed before listening to the woman speak, "No, no, dear. Not at all. What you did was an impossible decision to make," Krysta frowned, and Berri felt her face turn to look her in the eyes, "You love that boy."

Berri sniffed, "Riku," she felt her genuine self starting to emerge from the caccoon that had been spun as the gush of information and inner feelings that always seemed to make her feel better began to s pill, "Oh, but it doesn't matter, I'm here. Not that I mind being here, I love you guys too, but..oh, it's hopeless."

She let her head thud against Krysta's shoulder, a motion that quite obviously sparked some amusement in her two friends. They giggled, sharing a look amongst themselves, and Berri frowned again. She looked up at the two of them with a questioning glance behind her eyes. All she recieved as an answer was a gentle pat on the shoulder from Krysta, who had finally released her from her grasp.

"Nothing is hopeless, darling. Oh, Analise--I mean, Berri," The woman practically chuckled to herself, "I am so proud of you. Truly, I am. You are a strong, beautiful young woman, and it has been a privelage to know you all these years. I know your mother would be proud of you, too."

Zee piped in "She's right" with a wildly lopsided, and slightly exhausted grin.

"Thanks you too."

Berri suspected there was more, some final piece of information that they were not giving her, but she was too glad to be around them to ask. The two shared another secretive look before flanking her on either side. Zee and Krysta began chattering about current events as they led Berri out from her room and down to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. She found herself pleased to hear the community was repairing itself well, and that loved ones who had previously been believed lost for good were slowly turning up one by one. In fact, only two were still lost, but the morale of the valley's people had been so lifted by the return of others that the family was confident those two would arrive shortly. All around her life had been improving, growing, and healing. They seemed to notice how the news had changed her mood, and quite possibly her overall opinion of herself.

"Hey, Berrs, we've picked out a new outfit for you. It's in the bathroom there, so why don't you get changed, and then Krysta and I have something we want to show you. Okay?"

She smiled at them, and watched with mild confusion as that small gesture warmed the last pieces of remaining pain that had lingered in her friends' eyes. The girl shuffled into the bathroom and clicked the lock on the door behind her after it closed. The outfit waiting was definitely her. A pair of dark denim jeans with lightly faded knees sat folded next to a black and white striped long-sleeve shirt with a sash belt to match the one tying back her hair. It was simple, and completed by the solid white tennis shoes set on the floor next to the shower. Berri barely contained her squeal of delight. It took her only moments to throw on the clothes and quickly checked her appearance in the mirror. The clothes fit her nicely, made her look almost delicate in form, but the contrast of black and white reminded her strongly of silver hair, and a long black cloak.

Berri pushed back her feelings of frustration and sadness to step outside the bathroom and show off her new clothing--no doubt bought by Krysta, but picked out by Zee--to the two anxiously waiting females just beyond her door. The question of why they were lavishing her undeserving self with gifts tugged at the back of her conscious mind, but suspicion was not something she wanted to exercise.

The two crowded her again, each smiling, grinning, but that did not seem out of place. Zee looked at her closely and before Berri knew it she was locked in yet another hug.

"Okay you two, that's it. What's going on? You act like you're never going to see me again...I'm right here."

Zee almost laughed, and Krysta stayed smiling, tears pooling at the base of her eyes again. "That's just it, Berri," her redheaded friend spoke before stepping back and motioning for her to follow. The girl complied, trailing after Zee as Krysta followed on behind her, "We won't be seeing you again."

She gasped, choking over the rushed intake of air through her lungs before finally stammering, "Wha--why?! You can't ..you aren't leaving?!"

Krysta calmed her with a hand on her shoulder before directing the girl into the entrance hall of the great house with wooden floors. She shook her head, Zee joining her, "No, no, we aren't going anywhere. You are, Berri. We're sending you home."

She wanted to ask why, wanted to inform them that she was home, but some familiar force made itself known. Berri turned around, midnight-black hair swaying with the force of the darkness teeming just up against the wall of the hallway that slid along before branching into the kitchen. It was a portal, tinted with darkness that felt miraculously like Zee. Her emerald eyes widened significantly as she spun back 'round to face the two of them. It had never occurred to her that after returning home Zee would still retain her influence over the darkness.

"But, how? Zee, I don't..you guys, I don't understand."

Zee smiled, and for the first time Berri noticed she was wearing a necklace almost identical to her own. It was glass and shaped like a heart, but rather than being clear it contained a smokey consistency. Encased at its center was a small golden 'z.' Her redheaded firecracker of a friend sighed, clearing her throat, "It took me a while, Berri, but I found it for you. I found home--your real home."

"I can't leave you guys again, Zee," She closed her eyes, willing the welcoming vacuum of darkness to disappear, but it did not. How could it? Deep within her heart she wanted to step through, to lose herself in the curling tendrils of energy that beckoned her back to adventure and mystery, but she felt too horrible for abandoning them before. "I already did it once..no, twice," she added, counting her three months of inactivity as abandonment, "You need me here, especially if the heartless rise up again.."

Krysta raised a brow, which almost made Berri smile. It was the expression she used for 'tough love.' The woman set one hand defiantly on her hip, and formed the other into the famous index finger of doom that accompanied scolding mothers and grandmothers before chiding her, "Now you listen here, Berri. We've already stolen you for seventeen years and several months, I'd say we've gotten our fair share already. You know we love you, we know you love us, and no matter how far you try to run you can bet your skinny little buns you won't get rid of us that easily. Now, dear, get through that portal and get your man!"

She leapt forward, yanking Krysta into the tightest hug she could possibly manage. Berri smiled and thought perhaps she could feel herself vibrating with utter excitement, but before she left, there was one final thing she had to do. "Thanks, Mom."

Her foster mother stiffened, only to melt into a sobbing, blubbering mass of pride. She gave Berri a kiss on the cheek before stepping back, leaving the teen to face Zee one final time. The redhead smiled, purposefully ruffling the shorter girls ebony black hair, "You're alright, kid."

Berri smirked, sticking her tongue out at the taller girl, "You're still a kid, too, remember?"

"Yeah," she laughed, hugging her friend, "I guess you're right. Be careful for me, okay? I want you to be in one piece the next time I see you."

"Do you really think we'll see each other again?"

Zee nodded, unable to speak any more. She could see the redhead was afraid her tone of voice would betray her. Berri felt a sense of calm wash over her despite the fear of leaving them all over again. Something again promised they would be safe, promised that Zee would be able to keep everyone safe even without her help. The girl closed her fingers around the necklace Zee had given her before one final grin and wave. She spun wistfully on her heel before stepping forward and into the seething arms of darkness. They pulled her in carefully as if she were a china doll, and when Berri finally passed all the way through the familiar corridors, she opened her closed eyes to the sound of crunching sand underfoot.

Ocean waves crashed loudly behind her in an endless, soothing rhythm. Sand sprawled before her up to a network of treehouses and raised platforms, each dappled with vibrantly colored trees and palm trees of remarkable height. She felt her feet move forward as her emerald eyes turned, following the trail of sand up to a pier-like bridge. It stretched over the beach, past where the water met the sand, and onto the only platform she could see that started in the water before rising up into the air. A familiar aura called to her from the platform, but she could not let herself believe just yet. She had to see, to be sure. Berri ran forward until she could see a series of steps and small leaps in height from platform to platform that would take her to the end of the bridge still connected to the island's more massive section. She took a deep, cleansing breath before brushing her fingers over the necklace again. Berri turned, listening to the wood creak beneath her tennis shoes. The first image that caught her attention was that of a curved tree, the only one of its kind, that bore yellow star-shaped fruit. It was peculiar, but could not hold her attention for very long. She found herself instead enthralled with the silver-haired boy sat precariously perched on the trunk of the tree, his back facing towards her, and beautifully layered hair swaying gently in the ocean winds.

The girl stepped tentatively across the bridge, feeling her stomach tighten as the boy tensed. He sat up straighter, and her emerald eyes locked on the back of his head as he turned, flipping his feet over the trunk of the tree to face her, the approaching stranger.

All the scattered pieces of her broken heart glowed, pulling together to form one of the most relieving sensations the girl had ever encountered. She felt as though she herself had been brought back from the dead. Berri finally finished her trek across the bridge, and let herself step off the wooden boards and onto the sandy floor of the platfoorm a mere fifteen feet away from him. Her mouth moved, but only on the second try did her lips form the word she wanted most to speak, "Riku.."

He stared at her a moment, and while she found it uncomfortable, the silver-haired boy soon demolished all negative apprehensions. He broke into a run, and by the time she had smiled, Berri had been picked up in a near bone-crushing hug and spun 'round in circles several times over. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt her feet press back against the ground, his arms around her waist. Berri could barely reach when standing, but found she was entirely too stubborn to let go of home.

"You're here," he said, though his tone suggested he was not sure.

"Yes. I'm home."


	19. Chapter 19

**---Epilogue----**

**Okay peeps. [hee hee, marshmallow chicken.]**

**No Comrade Left Behind has officially come to a close, but do not despair. The vote for a follow-up story featuring both Berri and Riku won out, and so I will begin the process of starting up that new story very soon. I had originally been considering including a preview here, but since I will not have the time to do that, I am simply going to drop off a few of my ideas for the next story. It WILL contain two brand new OCs, and perhaps even a second love story connected, but the following list is something you all can vote on using the reviews feature. =) I'm feeling democratic again. So, you picked the story, now decide how you want it to be told. I'll do the rest. ^.^**

**1.) First person writing from Berri's point of view**

**2.) First person writing from Riku's point of view**

**3.) Third person omniscient. (similiar to no comrade left behind, but it will cover all involved character's, not just Berri or one of the other OC's)**

**4.) Limited third person. (what I used for no comrade left behind.)**

**Okay guys. I will close off the voting on Sunday, January 11 2009, so make sure you get your opinion in on time!**

********EDIT*********

**Okay well, seeing as only one person voted, I am going to extend this final poll until Wednesday, January 14 2009.**

**If nobody else votes, that one devoted person will get their wish. =)**


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